Page 23 of Power Plays & Proposals

What opportunities?

My phone said Erin had read my text, but none of the dots showed up to show she was typing. After a few minutes I knew Erin was done talking. She’d let me stew on it so I’d write her a check for whatever amount she wanted. We’d played this game way too many times, and I was done with it.

Instead of arguing with Erin I typed out a text to my lawyer asking for him to do whatever it took to keep Erin from moving away with Penelope.

My lawyer, Jared, must have been working late, because he responded right away.

Full custody?

Yes.

I put my phone on silent before setting it in my locker and grabbing my gear. With a roll of my shoulders, I pushed all the drama out of my mind. Right then, all I needed to think about was the puck and the team. I fell into my pre-game gear-up routine.

Coach Hart walked over to me as I lifted my jersey over my head. "You good?" he asked.

I finished pulling my jersey on. "I'm good."

He nodded and got the team’s attention. After talking through the starting lineup, and a reminder of the tactics he wanted to see, he gave the same pep talk he’d delivered last night. We were good, but only as good as we played together. The Frostbite Falcons we were about to play had won last night. They wanted to do it again tonight.

Coach told us to focus on the puck not the punches, and we left the locker room for the ice. We warmed up and I held up a glove to fist-bump Dan in our typical pregame fashion. After the quick skate around the ice we were pulled off the ice for the national anthem to play. As it finished I looked up to the box to see Penelope standing at the glass. Lia next to her. Penelope pointed at something, and Lia nodded.

I looked away. Head in the game. Not on the beautiful redhead treating my daughter with respect.

"Mitchell!"

My head snapped to Coach.

"Faceoff."

"Yes, Coach!" Faceoffs were one of my favorite parts of the game. There's nothing quite like challenging myself against the speed of the player across from me and seeing who can get the puck first.

I dropped my smile as I skated to the center of the ice, stopping just outside the circle where the ref will drop the puck. A quick look around showed that my teammates were in position, a nod from Daniel in the net told me we were all good. I turned my focus forward and immediate distaste coated my tongue as I recognized the player in the red jersey across the circle from me. Evan Mercer had been a pain in my backside since my first AHL season. He took it personally when the NHL called me up over him. Last I'd heard he’d been with the Blizzard Bisons. I hadn’t seen him at last night’s game.

"Mitchell." He nearly spat the words out as he leaned low.

"Mercer." I leaned forward nice and low to get in position and waited for the puck to drop.

The ref looked between us and held up the black puck. "Clean game boys."

Coach wanted a clean game too, but when it comes to hockey, clean is relative. I won't play dirty, but I will return whatever I get, and I have no doubt that my team will be there for me too.

The ref dropped the puck, and my stick was there to get it and Mercer was just a little too slow. I slapped the puck to my wingman and Mercer shoved me away. I shrugged him off and followed the puck as Lou skated it down the ice. The Falcons played hard, and I hit the boards more than once, but so did the other team.

Back and forth we went across the ice, neither team scoring in the first or second period. The third period started, and just like the first two, I got the puck in the faceoff against Mercer. Switching it up, I hit the puck to Matt. He was young and fast and was off to the other side of the rink while the rest of us played catch up. The Falcon defensemen collided with him, and they ended up fighting over the puck by the boards. They scrapped, and just as I got in position for Matt to sling the puck my way, he dropped his stick and launched himself into the other player.

The ref's whistle blew, and I helped the refs pull Matt away from the fight. Matt was angrier than I've ever seen him. In the pause as we waited for the refs to tell us how long he'd be stuck in the box I stood by him.

"What was that about?" I asked. Matt wasn't a goon and had the lowest PIM on the team.

He shook his head, and skated to the penalty box without a word.

The Falcons had a power play for five minutes, leaving my team down a player until Matt got out of the box. We skated hard, but Mercer ended up scoring. Something he gloated about as we went again in the faceoff. Mercer had figured out that he couldn’t grab the puck first, and he went for blocking my stick instead. My hockey stick scraped across the ice and hit Mercer's stick hard. He twisted, and quickly ran a skate on my stick, causing it to break. With a grin Mercer gained control of the puck and he slapped it away to his teammate, and then while the refs were looking away, his stick hooked my skate and pulled. I hit the ice, and if I hadn't had a helmet my head would’ve been ringing.

Mercer had already skated away and acted like nothing happened.

Whistles blew, and the game was paused as the refs conferred.

I got up and headed to my team's bench for a new stick while the refs divvied out Mercer's penalty. Coach opened the door in the boards as I skated closer.

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