Page 100 of Going All In

He pushed aside thoughts of Darcy and focused on the game. There were only four games left in the regular season. They’d clinched a playoff berth weeks ago, but if they could win at least two more games, they had a shot at ending up first in the division and having home ice advantage.

A short while later, with two minutes left in the third period, Dallas had tied it up. It was three to three. Jake had two goals and Dom had scored the third. Time was winding down and every man on the Strikers’ bench knew that they needed all the points they could get.

Jake saw his opening, a sloppy pass from one Dallas forward to another, and he snagged the puck with his stick, curling it into his body before he was off toward the Dallas goalie. He heard the other players cutting through the ice, felt the nudge of a stick against the back of his skate, but he ignored it and spotted Cheesy out of the corner of his eye.

The captain lightly tapped his stick on the ice and Jake sent the puck flying toward the man before Jake ducked away from the Dallas forward that was shadowing him. He got to the corner of the goal, taking up space but avoiding the blue paint. He would not get called for goaltender interference if he could help it.

Cheesy lined up his shot and fired, but the puck bounced off the post. Before the goalie could drop down to cover it, Jake was sending it to the back of the net.

The goal horn blared and hats started flying from the stands to the ice. It was his first hat trick as a Striker, and as his teammates crashed into him to congratulate him, he grinned from ear to ear.

This was where he belonged.

And he couldn’t wait to celebrate with Darcy tonight. And every night she’d let him.

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