Page 108 of Second Chance with the Single Dad Goalie
Logan dives - sticks out - and deflects the shot!
The puck skitters into the neutral zone, and Jensen jumps on it.
He takes off like a rocket.
Thunder scrambles, their defense backing up as Jensen crosses the blue line.
He fakes a shot - and drops a pass back to Nick.
Nick dangles, pulling a defender out of position before slipping the puck to Liam.
Liam.
The guy who’s been on fire all night.
I watch from my crease, heart in my throat.
Liam shifts the puck from forehand to backhand, his body tilting ever so slightly.
And I see it.
The opening.
He does too.
With a sharp cut, he angles himself just enough to fire - low, glove side.
The Thunder goalie reacts a second too late.
The puck flies past his glove, and kisses the post…
And slams into the net.
Goal.
4-3, Avalanche.
For half a second, the arena is silent.
Then - absolute chaos.
Our bench empties as the guys leap over the boards, screaming. Liam throws his arms up before getting mobbed by the team.
I rip off my mask, breathless, pulse hammering.
We did it.
One down, three more to go.
****
The locker room is electric. Laughter, cheers, the slap of hands against backs and helmets – oh, but we did it.
Liam’s still grinning like an idiot, and the guys keep roughing him up, shoving him playfully.
"Clutch, man. That was clutch," Ryan says, shaking Liam’s shoulders.
Liam smirks. "You know me. Always gotta keep it interesting."
