Page 31 of Stick Side
Chapter 12
Ben
Melody’soriginalwishcametrue. Chicago slaughtered San Jose 7–0 despite their home-ice advantage. San Jose was a strong team but, for whatever reason, it seemed like the Challengers could do no wrong that night. Everything flowed like magic. Passes were completed with pinpoint precision and checks were given squarely. Somehow, they even managed to avoid getting any penalties. It was an unexpectedly clean game in which not a single player got thrown into the penalty box. That was almost unheard of.
Even Coach Dodds didn’t have anything negative to say after their game. The head coach was such a hard-ass that Ben had wondered whether that was even possible.
“Was that a kick-ass game or what?” Richie asked the locker room at large.
They were all flying high after the spectacular win.
“That was an incredible game, guys,” Phillips put in. “I was beyond proud to wear the ‘C’ on my jersey tonight. If we can keep playing like this, we’ll be unstoppable.”
All the guys cheered. It was moments like this that made all the grueling practices, hours in the gym, and time spent away from family worth it. There was nothing quite like the rush that came from being competitive.
Throughout the game, Ben had felt invincible. It was like the game slowed, the noise of the crowd muted, and he’d achieved a laser-like focus on the puck and the other eleven players on the ice. To hear his teammates talk, it sounded like he wasn’t the only one.
“Nice shutout, O’Rourke,” Cassidy praised their goaltender. “First for the league this season.” He held out his fist for a bro bump. O’Rourke didn’t leave him hanging, lightly tapping the front of his fist against Cassidy’s.
“Thanks, but you guys made it easy for me tonight. San Jose barely made it into our end. When they did, you guys stepped up to defend.”
“No way, man,” Cassidy contradicted. “Defense might have been extra tight tonight, but you stayed sharp and didn’t let our momentum go to your head. Keep doing what you’re doing, and you could be the new record holder.”
“Drinks on O’Rourke!” Kyle Knight proposed.
“Are you even old enough to drink, rookie?” Richie condescended.
The young forward’s ears colored. “I am in Canada,” Knight mumbled.
O’Rourke clapped their youngest player on the back good-naturedly. “I’ll tell you what, Knight. If I can break the record for the most shutouts in a regular season, I’ll spring for drinks. In Canada.”
Knight pumped his fist into the air. “Booya!”
Ben couldn’t help but smile and shake his head. With the amount of money the Challengers had spent to acquire Kyle Knight, he could more than afford to buy his own drinks. Andyet, as was the case for so many, the allure of free booze was unsurpassable.
“You were on fire tonight, Knight,” Ben remarked, seeing no reason not to jump on the compliment train. “The way you carried the puck up the boards was even more impressive than usual.”
Knight brushed off the praise. “Says the MVP.” Knight was looking at him with so much admiration it was rather humbling. “You scoredfourgoals tonight.”
“The kid’s right,” Richie agreed. “You were some kind of amazing tonight.”
“Thanks.” It was his job to be a solid hockey player, but that didn’t mean it didn’t feel great to have an outstanding game and help ignite his team’s drive to win. “I was in the zone.”
“I would say,” Volkov put in. “It was like you had eyes in the back of your head. I do not know how you do it, but it was like you had a 360-degree view of the game at all times. You are a great player, but tonight . . .vpechatlyayushchiy. Impressive.”
“Let’s just say I woke up in a really good mood and it carried over,” Ben said evasively.
“Ha!” Richie barked out a laugh. “Did someone finally get some last night?” He winked in an exaggerated way that was kind of off-putting coming from another guy.
Trust Richie to take it there. Ben was glad Phillips had turned away to engage some of the other players in conversation because he didn’t want their captain to get the wrong impression. And he might have, given the role he’d played in getting Ben to the speed dating event last night.
“It’s not like that,” Ben clarified. Not really, at least. Not in the sketchy way Richie was thinking.
“Sure, sure,” Richie acquiesced. Someone was clearly determined to think with his little head.
“Hey,” Ben said as he saw Coach McGuire enter one of the glass-walled rooms that was being used as an office. “I’ll be right back. I need to speak to Coach McGuire for a minute.”
“Ask for a raise!” Knight shouted at his retreating back. “After tonight’s game, they might just give you one.”
