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The Kingsnakes had finally managed to start cycling the puck down in San Jose's zone.
Hannah clapped her hands. "Let's go, boys! Let's get something going here."
Caleb Steele, Eli's defensive partner, took a shot at the net from the point, which San Jose's goaltender stopped easily with his blocker. Ryder, parked in front of the left side of the net in an attempt to screen the goaltender, tried to grab the rebound, but San Jose's defense poked it into the corner and out of danger.
Kingsnakes center Shaw Castle managed to snag the puck and glided behind the net, passing it off to Eli, who had sneaked up on the right-hand side in front of the goalie. With a San Jose defender hot on his heels, he snapped a shot between the goalie and the post. It bounced off the back edge of the goaltender's glove and into the net.
"Yes!" Holly cried.
Eli threw his arms in the air as the red goal light came on, and his linemates tackled him with hugs, pushing him against the glass in their exuberance.
Holly leaped from her seat, grabbing Penn in a hug as the rest of the WAGs jumped up and down, screaming.
The deafening roar of the crowd nearly drowned out Pitbull's “Don't Stop the Party,” the Kingsnakes' goal song, as it blared from the arena's speakers.
"I told you!" Bella said, high-fiving each of them. She danced along to the song, grinning as she pumped her fists in the air. "I freaking told you guys!"
Hannah laughed and hugged her future sister-in-law. "Okay, but we still have two minutes to kill before the end of this period. And you know San Jose is going to be lit up trying to score."
"This game is ours," Bella declared. "I know it. I just know it!"
"Says the non-hockey fan," Penn teased. "Two minutes guys. Two minutes to go. They can do this! They've got to do this."
Holly's heart flipped in her chest as Eli skated past the bench, grinning from ear-to-ear as he bumped gloves with his teammates.
She was so proud of him she thought she might burst.
"Two minutes," she murmured. "Just two minutes."
When the puck dropped on the next shift, the Vegas crowd screamed and stomped their feet as San Jose battled to get the puck down into the Kingsnakes zone. They managed to get a few shots on net, but goaltender West Keller shut them down.
The fans counted down the remaining ten seconds of the period, and everyone got to their feet. When the clock hit zero and the buzzer blared, the Kingsnakes bench threw their arms in the air and dove onto the ice, flying down the length of the rink to attack their goaltender with hugs.
"They did it. They really did it. They're going to the finals." Penn's voice wavered as tears streamed down her face. "They're going to play for the Cup."
Holly grabbed her in a hug. "Fucking right they are! They've earned it."
Hannah and Bella hugged each other, and Holly pulled Zoe into their group hug. The captain's wife was crying, but she was laughing, too.
"Oh my God. They freaking won. They did it!" Zoe wiped her eyes with her sleeve. "This is a dream come true."
San Jose milled around the center of the ice, looking shell-shocked and dejected as the Kingsnakes skated over to form the handshake line—a tradition at the end of a playoff series in hockey.
"San Jose played their hearts out," Bella said, staring down at the ice. "This has to be rough for them."
"Agreed," Hannah said. "But it's not their time. And you know why? Because it's our time."
"Tell that to Tampa Bay," Bella said coyly. "They just won the Eastern Conference championship, so I'm sure they think it's their time. But guess what, it's not. Because we're going to own their asses, too."
"Fucking right!" Zoe yelled. "Let's go, Vegas!"
"Let's go, Vegas!" they chorused.
Holly grinned at Penn. "I guess I better get some Kingsnakes swag for the upcoming series."
Penn hugged her. "This team has captured your heart. Admit it."
She glanced down at the crowd, where Eli stood in the handshake line, talking to a San Jose player.
