Page 40 of Rookie Rules

Neither said the phrase.

They did not need to.

Port Ellis answered Finn's goal before the second period ended. A failed clear stayed in at the blue line, changed direction in front, and put Northstar behind 2-1.

No one treated the exhibition like a crisis. Vale changed one matchup. Nolan told Eli where the clear had broken. Rowan leaned over the boards and repeated the next line assignment without attaching blame to it.

Early in the third, Jace tied the game by driving the net after Mateo's shot hit the end boards and kicked out beside the post. The goal was ugly enough that Jace celebrated it as art.

"Designed rebound," he announced at the bench.

"You fell down," Eli said.

"Commitment to the finish."

With four minutes left, the Breakers took a hooking penalty after Luca cut through the right circle. On the power play, Northstar worked the puck high, forced the penalty killers to compress, and returned it to Luca at the dot.

The shooting lane opened for less than a second.

He released before the defender's stick arrived.

The puck struck the inside of the far post and entered the net.

3-2.

Luca's celebration came bright and automatic. He dropped to one knee, rose into Finn's shoulder, and accepted the gloves striking his helmet. Rowan reached him last.

"Good timing," he said.

Not good shot. Timing.

Luca laughed because Rowan could turn praise into a lesson even while the red light remained on.

Northstar protected the lead through the final minutes. Luca took a short shift, put the puck deep instead of chasing another goal, and returned to the bench with Rowan's approving tap against the boards following him.

The Wolves won 3-2. Luca had scored the winner, but the goal he replayed while stripping off equipment was Finn's.

He had not touched the puck.

Rowan had trusted him to change the ice anyway.

Steam rose in the shower room. Music returned to the locker room. Jace argued that an exhibition win deserved better food than the boxed meals waiting at the hotel. Eli wanted to know whether exhibition calories counted differently.

Luca laughed in the right places and kept track of Rowan without appearing to.

Captain duties first. Vale. Media staff. A short conversation with Gabriel. Rowan moved through the postgame room repairing its edges.

Gabriel received the first round of postgame congratulations without letting anyone turn an exhibition into a trophy ceremony. Mateo tried anyway. Nolan collected the defense after Vale's short review and walked them through the failed clear with a bottle balanced against his knee.

Luca showered, dressed, and let the room happen around him. The victory had loosened everyone. Music traveled beneath conversation. Equipment staff moved through with laundry bags. A road win in September would not change the season, but it gave a rebuilding room one more piece of evidence that the new shape might hold.

Rowan remained at the center of it without occupying the center physically. He spoke to Vale near the door, checked with Gabriel, then stopped beside the equipment manager to confirm departure time. Every exchange was brief. Every person left with what they needed.

Luca knew what he wanted from Rowan and resented how little it resembled a hockey correction.

When he finally reached his stall, Luca was tying his shoes.

Rowan sat opposite him and began packing tape into his bag.