Page 90 of Blocked Score

A Brumehill player whose name I don’t know got body checked in the chest so hard that he fell flat on his back on the ice, even though the puck was all the way on the other side of the rink.

Fans at the bar are spouting off at the refs.

On the screen, I watch the guys I know fill the ice as their coach calls for a shift change. We win control of the puck, and it looks like we’re really building up momentum, until one of the Wisconsin players slashes his stick at Sebastian’s shins, sending him tripping face-first onto the ice.

He hits hard, his helmet smacking against the cold, solid surface in a way that has everyone in the bar wincing.

And it looks like he isn’t moving.

Concern shoots through me. Next to me, I sense Harper going tense all over. I flick my gaze to her and see worry etched on her face, her eyes wide and glued to Sebastian on the TV.

“Come on, get up,” she whispers, almost inaudibly, like a prayer. Her fists are clenched in front of her chest and she doesn’t even blink; it’s like the rest of the world’s melted away for her.

Finally, after a long several seconds, Sebastian gets to his feet. He’s staggered but doesn’t look seriously hurt. Relief floods me, and it hits Harper so hard that she lets out the heaviest sigh I’ve ever heard.

Normally, I’d tease her for it, but this is one situation that seems beyond the lines of teasing. Though I certainly store this away in the expanding file that Sebastian and Harper’s relationship takes up in my brain.

Kiran has to come out and sub for Sebastian. Soon after play resumes, Rhys targets the Wisconsin player who tripped Sebastian with the most brutal body check I’ve ever seen.

Rhys slams his shoulder into the guy’s sternum like he’s a linebacker for the NFL instead of a hockey defenseman.

The guy goes flying backward and clatters to the ice, to the resounding cheers of everyone at Loser’s.

Butnowthe refs decide to grow pairs of eyes.

The crowd here piles every curse word in the book onto the refs’ heads while Rhys gets sent to the Sin Bin.

Wisconsin scores on their power play.

In a game where goals have been almost impossible to come by, the Black Bears are down 0-1 and facing the end of their season.

They’re able to regroup when Rhys gets let back out. Minutes later, the bar erupts when Lane scores a defensive goal on Wisconsin, tying the game.

“Fuck yeah, Lane!” I yell at the top of my lungs. Even Harper’s so into it at this point that her arms are wrapped around me and we’re jumping up and down together.

The clock hits zero, and they go to sudden-death overtime.

Sebastian’s cleared to come back in the game, and when overtime starts, he plays with a vengeance.

Both teams go all out for the first five minutes of the overtime period, but then Sebastian steals the puck, dekes past twoWisconsin defenders, and fires it off, sending it careening past their goalie into the net.

It’s pandemonium all throughout Cedar Shade as the Black Bears win.

Two days from now, the last game of Lane’s career will be for the college championship.

45

LANE

It was close. Real close. Until it wasn’t.

For the first two periods, we went goal for goal with Norte Dame, our opponent in the Frozen Four finals. Coming into the third period, we were tied 3-3.

Then it stopped being close.

First Jamie scored on a breakaway.

Then one of their defensemen let his temper get the best of him and was sent to the penalty box, and we scored on a power play.

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