The puck flies toward me at high speed, and instinct takes over. I drop to my knees, using my pads to shield the ice. It ricochets off, and the battle recommences.
It’s nonstop. Relentless. Every push toward the goal is met with resistance on both sides. The shots on goal numbers tick up more slowly than they usually do in the regular season, but they do rise.
Sweat drips down my face as I stop another attempt, the salt stinging my eyes.
“Keep your head in the game, Navarro,” Logan shouts as I almost let a puck by me.
My gaze jumps to the family box. I need to see her.
“Bash!”
Two seconds. I took my eye off the ice for two seconds. The puck comes screaming toward my head. I get my glove up, but I’m half a second too late. It sails past me with awhooshand hits the net. The red light flashes in the arena, and the crowdboosloudly as the Sharks pile on the winger who scored the goal, celebrating being up one to nothing with two minutes left in the first.
“Hey.” Maddox comes to a stop inches from me, grabbing both sides of my helmet. “Are you okay?”
No.
“I’m fine. I’ll be fine.”
“I need you to focus, brother. We have your back, but I need you to get your head in the game. She’s safe. She’s with the girls. Give her a reason to jump into your arms when she sees you. Give her something to take her mind off what happened, okay? She deserves that.”
She does.
“Okay. Yeah.” I nod, steel infusing my spine. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”
“No man. You have nothing to be sorry for. Nobody’s perfect. Can’t be. Not even you. All I’m asking is that you do your best.”
“I can do that.” I will. I have to. For her. For them. For myself.
“Good. Let’s fucking go.” Maddox pats the top of my helmet as the Sharks break apart. He skates to the red line for another face-off, and I take a deep breath in, hold it for ten seconds, then let it out slowly.
One goal is all Florida is going to get.
I hope they enjoyed it.
“We’re down by one,but we have forty minutes left to turn this game around,” Coach Fry says from the middle of the locker room. Feet spread shoulder-width apart, his expression is calm, and I will myself to mirror him. “We knew this was going to be a battle. We were prepared for this.”
My teammates voice their agreement. I stay silent.
“I want you to brush off the last period. It’s the past. We can’t change it, but we don’t have to repeat it. Keep the puck out of the defensive zone. Support Navarro. They’re going to push hard, but we won’t let them succeed. They’re in our barn. These are our fans. This is our ice. You’ve worked your asses off to get to this point, so don’t slow down now. I want you to get out on that ice and show the world who the Rogues are. Show them what I already know. That you’re the best out there. You’re champions. Show the world that you never give up on each other.” Coach meets my gaze. “That we can win this together.”
Together. Not just me. Not just the offensive line. Together.
I give Coach Fry a solemn nod, which he returns.
“Now get out there and show the world what you’re made of.”
The locker room erupts in cheers and chants as Fry walks out, and the rest of us rise to follow him.
“You good, now?” Griffin asks as we make our way to the tunnel.
“Yeah.” I will be. Have to be. I keep reminding myself that Indie is safe and surrounded by our friends. Security kicked her ex out of the arena, and there’s no way he’s getting back in. She’s okay.
“Good. Shake off the last period, man. Time for beast mode.”
“I won’t let you guys down,” I promise.
“You’ve never let us down, bro. Not even when we lose.”