Page 328 of Saving Forever with the Hockey Captain

Toby lines up beside me.

He leans close enough that only I can hear.

"Just another Tuesday."

I smile.

The puck drops. Bodies crash together. Sticks clash.

The visitors move the puck quickly around the perimeter, searching for a shooting lane. The shot finally comes from the right circle.

I step into the lane without thinking. The puck strikes the shaft of my stick and deflects harmlessly into the corner. Liam reaches it first.

Instead of forcing a difficult clearing attempt, he banks it softly off the boards where Ethan races to it and sends it the length of the ice.

The puck slides just wide of the empty net.

The crowd groans, then applauds anyway.

Forty-three seconds.

***

The next shift feels strangely calm.

Months ago, I would have been counting every second, trying to control everything happening around me.

Now...I simply trust the team to do their jobs. And trust myself, not because I'm captain, but because I'm one player among six. Exactly the way hockey is meant to be played.

***

The final rush comes with twelve seconds remaining.

The visitors carry the puck across the blue line one last time.

Their captain fires a hard pass toward the slot.

It glances off Toby's stick.

The rebound skips free.

For a heartbeat the puck sits loose between three players.

Every person in the arena rises.

I reach it first.

Without hesitation I chip it safely off the glass and out of the zone.

The clock continues to run.

Five seconds.

Four.

Three.

The crowd begins counting together.