Page 71 of Hockey Bois
“Yes, Jensie?”
“A lot of the teams seem to be relying on a pinch-in from the D. It’s almost always a set play, you can see them jumping in before their guys even have full control of the puck. I’d recommend the centers be ready to cut that off and do a blind pass up to the neutral zone. Nothing hard enough to ice, but something that our wingers can anticipate and rush after on a breakaway.”
“Great observation, I’ve seen that as well. Centers, be on the lookout. Defense, keep an eye out for a good opportunity as well. Wingers, if you see that happen, maybe hesitate a moment if necessary, but be ready to make a run for it. Anything else?”
There was some chatter, but no one spoke up.
“I wouldn’t mind taking some faceoffs,” Nick added hesitantly. He would love to play center, but he wouldn’t risk it during a game that mattered. “I know I can’t take on that full center position, but I’m decent at the drop. I can win them and then switch back to wing once the play starts.”
“I can second that,” Brady said with the same puppy-dog enthusiasm he’d been showing all day. “Nicki’s a beast at faceoffs. I help him practice ’em.”
That earned a few raised eyebrows and shared looks from the rest of the team.
“You guys practice together?” Donno asked slowly. “Like… outside of warm-ups?”
Brady jerked like he’d been slapped; he took a step back so their arms were no longer touching. “I, uh… I mean we… stick-and-puck,” he babbled lamely, his eyes on the ground and very much looking like he regretted saying anything.
Nick’s cheeks grew hot, and he tried not to make eye contact with anyone. That didn’t stop his stomach from doing flip-flops.
Even Benns seemed thrown off, though he didn’t comment. “GG, you okay with that?”
“With not taking a draw?” he asked. “Yeah, I can handle that.”
“Great!” Benns waited for any more additions and nodded solemnly when there were none. “We’ve played great so far. I think we’ve done a fantastic job against a really impressive lineup of teams who have completely different skill sets and strategies than we’re used to seeing. It’s tough to continuously play at such a high level in such a short amount of time, so no matter how we end up ranking tomorrow, I’m proud of the effort we’ve put forth.”
He let the pep talk sink in before he nodded toward Gail. “Gail has volunteered to take over our… What did you call it?”
“Required Post-Game Relaxation and Socialization Meet-Up,” Gail said. “Aka Happy Hour at a bar by my hotel.”
“Yes, that!” Benns said with a nod. “She’s organizing a gathering tonight to help us relax and not stress out too much before playoffs tomorrow. You guys take care of yourselves, and don’t drink too much or stay up too late. It’s no fun playing hungover, and I don’t want to see anyone run out of steam when we still have to make the drive home tomorrow evening.”
“Yes, sir,” Brady said with a military salute. It surprised a laugh out of half the team; the rest of them gawked.
It also hopefully helped them forget that Brady and Nick practice together.
“Is this what Jens is like in Pens territory?” Donno asked. “If so, I kinda like it. I’m also kinda scared.”
For his part, Nick was as baffled as the rest of the team, though it came with a strange light-headedness whenever Brady’s erratic behavior was pointed his way.This is good, right? Please say it’s good…
Their last game of the night wasn’t particularly interesting. The opposing team tried to push hard, but they seemed too burnt-out to do much. The defense was able to lock things down in their zone, and Nick led the centers in faceoff wins.
“Tell me why you’re not usually a center,” GG said near the end of the third. They’d probably only get one more shift, and GG was already taking off his helmet. “I don’t mind, but I can’t win ’em like you can.”
“That’s something to think about,” Benns agreed. He appraised him, GG, and Young Greg sitting together on the bench and nodded in approval. “Your line has good chemistry. I don’t want to break you up, but switching Nicki to center might open things up and give you guys more opportunities.”
“Thinks he’s not fast enough,” Brady interrupted. He patted Nick’s helmet affectionately, caught himself, and knocked Young Greg’s and GG’s helmets for good measure before jumping over the boards onto the ice for a shift.
“What isupwith him?” Young Greg muttered with wide eyes as Brady immediately hip-checked someone and stole the puck. “Fuckingspectacular.”
Nick nodded in agreement and could barely pull his eyes away when Benns shuffled closer to him on the bench.
“Well, Nicki,” Benns said, “if that’s why, from what I’ve seen, you’re plenty fast. Maybe we try it out more in the future, if you’re interested?”
Nick was staring after Brady and had to shake his head to refocus. “Yeah, sure. Fine with me.”
Nick had hoped there’d be time after the last game—a 2:1 loss that they nearly tied with an amazing shot from Benns, but it went right through the crease—to head back to their hotels. The pretense was to shower, to get Brady settled in, and to change. It wasn’t that heexpectedanything else to happen, but he wanted a chance to feel things out away from the team.
“All right,” Gail announced in the locker room. She had her phone out. “There’s a bar about a mile from here. Happy Hour deals on pitchers end in thirty, so hurry the fuck up and get your butts over there. First few people, grab a table and order some beers.”
