“Pfffft. She knows you loved Enzo before her, just like she loved Molly before you, right?” She shrugged. “Isn’t turnabout foul play or something? How’s the thumb?”
“Throbby.”
She handed him the ice pack she’d grabbed for him. “Ten minutes. Take care of your digits.”
Linc wasn’t the only player to need ice during the break. She felt like the Santa of ice packs by the time they took themselves back to the bench after the period break. The guys were out of shape after the summer break. She couldn’t imagine they spent their summers getting hit over and over by a moving vehicle.
Those de la Peñas weren’t just pretty faces. They sure as hell packed a punch.
Wood smacked against wood as the third period got underway. She hadn’t bitten her nails since she’d moved to Minnesota, but this game… this fucking game… It wasn’t as though they just had tacos riding on the outcome, both teams fought like their entire existence hung in the balance of the final score.
Lawson skated toward Séb’s goal, and Séb came out to meet him but Lawson didn’t stop. By definition, Goalie Interference happened when an opposing player initiated contact with the goalie, whether intentionally or unintentionally, and therefore impairing the goalie’s ability to move freely.
Not only had Lawson impaired Séb’s ability to move freely, he still had him pinned.
He needed to get the fuck off her goalie before someone took matters into their own hands.
One Mississippi… Two Mississippi… Kenzie looked at the ref, there was no way in hell he didn’t see what was happening at the away team’s net. Three Mississippi…
The Snow Pirate’s new enforcer, Colton Banks seemed to take umbrage at the referee’s lack of response to the obvious penalty and checked Lawson from behind. Hard. Lawson folded like a rickety tower of Jenga blocks, landing on top of Séb, and Artemis cross-checked Colton’s shoulders.
For less than a beat, the entire rink held their breath as a flurry of activity broke out on the ice.
The whistle blew.
Apollo helped Lawson off Séb.
Colton squared up to Artemis.
Theo checked on Séb, helping him to his unsteady feet.
Lincoln pressed one of his gloves on Colton’s chest and the other on Artemis’s, pushing the players apart, snarling something at the twin.
Russ hung over the edge of the boards, ready to join his team on the ice if the situation called for it.
Both teams were poised, ready to strike, ready to come to blows – the air sizzled around the rink, crackling with anticipation. The spectators were gunning for a fight, but she was pretty sure by this point, the players just wanted their freakin’ tacos and to split the bill 50-50.
As much as she wanted to believe it was all about the tasty tacos, a pretty serious infraction had taken place on the ice.
You never messed with a team’s goalie.
Ever.
Her heart stopped dead in her chest when the ref caught Colton by the elbow and escorted him to the box, but left Lawson out on the open ice.
The Snow Pirates werepissed.Hell, she was pissed. Lincoln stood talking to the ref, hands moving, frown deepening as he pleaded the case for his teammate. He gestured at Séb, then back at Lawson, before shaking his head at something the referee said in reply.
No matter what Lincoln said to the ref, he shook his head. Another penalty kill for the Snow Pirates was on the board with only six minutes left on the clock. It put the Snow Pirates in the precarious position of potentially needing two goals in four minutes.
It wasn’t impossible, but they were tired, their spirits were crumbling in front of her eyes, and they didn’t have Finn on hand to make an inappropriate joke or fluff up the team’s sagging confidence.
Artemis stood in front of Lawson, his face taut, and his lips moving as though he was quietly dressing down the player. Apollo didn’t look much happier. Good. They should be pissed at their teammate. Fucking around with the goalie wasn’t cool.
To the surprise of everyone, Ares took off across the ice, coming to a stop in front of Séb. Russ swung his legs over the bench, stopping before his skates hit the ice at Séb’s raised hand. The two goalies had, what at least seemed to be a friendly exchange, before Ares smacked Séb’s pads with the blade of his stick and returned to his crease.
This was turning out to be the strangest hockey game she’d ever seen.
The Snow Pirates held off the Trash Pandas for the two minute penalty kill, and again for the two minutes after that. And going into the last two minutes of play the score was still 2-1. Pride surged through her veins at how her boys hadn’t succumbed to dirty tricks and their anger over the last few minutes of play.
