He’d practically stood on his damn head to stop my last shot on net. But as I jumped off the bench and launched myself over the wall for my next shift, I had a hunch the tide was about to turn.
I skated hard toward the center of the ice, where one of the Vikings defenders had the puck. He must’ve missed me coming off the bench because he didn’t see me heading straight for him until I had already poked the puck away from him. The other defender had hung back in their zone, but I deked around him.
It was only me and the goalie again. He came out of the net into the crease a little, and it was exactly the opening I needed. Powering forward, I popped the puck to the left before quickly bringing it back to the right. It was too late for the goalie; he’d already committed to my first move. I was able to continue gliding to the right and dumped the puck into the net only inches behind his back.
I didn’t wait for the ref to call the goal before I pumped my fist in the air. Over the roar of my teammates' celebration, I heard a feminine voice call out, “Way to go, Corby!”
My head swiveled in the direction of the cheer, and I pointed at Emmeline to let her know I had scored that goal for her, too. Her smile was blinding, and it gave me an extra surge of adrenaline as I lined up at center ice for the puck drop. The Vikings center had seen my gesture and decided to mouth off about Emmeline. “Your girl is hot, man. I’ll be sure to find her after the game and give her a chance to trade up to a real man.”
Talking shit about the girl I was into was the worst decision he could’ve made. It made me more determined than ever to pound the Vikings into the ice. “You wouldn’t know a real man if he came up and punched you in the face, which I’m sure has happened often enough to kill off a shit ton of brain cells already since you’re a dumb fuck.”
“That’s enough, boys,” the ref warned before popping the whistle in his mouth and blowing. The puck dropped between us, and I beat my opponent to it yet again. This time, I knocked the puck between his legs with a light tap and crashed my hip into his side as I went around him to take back possession of the puck before one of his teammates got there. I pushed hard toward their side of the ice with Dean keeping pace to my left. Both Vikings defenders came at me, leaving him wide open. With a hard flick of my wrist, I passed to Dean. He lifted his stick and took a slapshot that sent the puck flying over the goalie's shoulder and into the back of the net.
Dean’s goal turned the tide of the game. The third line scored before the end of the second period, and then Chuck got the puck in the net about halfway through the third period. We were up by four with less than a minute on the clock when Brodie sent the puck flying up the boards in our zone. It popped over the Vikings defender’s stick and into the neutral zone, and I charged forward to snag the puck, pushing it ahead of me as I broke away from the pack. With only fifteen seconds remaining, I swung toward the left while simultaneously thrusting my stick out to the right, throwing the goalie off and giving me an opening just big enough to get the puck past him.
My teammates and the people in the stands went wild. I pointed my stick at Emmeline as I headed for the bench, bumping gloves with everyone as I skated past before stepping off the ice. As I sat down and grabbed my water bottle, Coach Carter came behind me and tapped the top of my helmet. “A hat trick is a great way to start the season, King. Whatever you’re doing, keep it up.”
As the buzzer signaled the end of the game, I looked up into the stands to where Emmeline sat. I’d been worried she’d distract me from hockey, but I was wrong—she’d ended up being the motivation I needed to play one of my best games ever.
7
Emmeline
The other spectators around us were still screaming when Sarah flung