CHAPTER FORTY #3
Of course, it was Luke’s night. None of the Harriers wanted to lose during his thousandth game celebration. Least of all Luke. He was playing hard too, and it was one of the most energetic games Sebastian had seen all season.
The teams traded scoring chances for another ten minutes or so, both goaltenders making great saves.
Sebastian clenched his hands together tightly as Nicky passed the puck from the far goal line toward the near circle where Leif Rasmussen lurked.
Leif immediately fired the puck, but Jesse denied that too.
Damn, that had been a great opportunity for New York. But no matter how many great opportunities both teams got, the game was still 2–0 at the end of the first period.
The Harriers dominated play in the second and it wasn’t until eleven minutes in when Connor fired the puck toward Roman Poole. Poole blocked it but when it shot toward Luke, he fired it back toward the net.
It pinged off the post, rebounding wildly and suddenly Tanner was there, shoving it in past Poole’s pads.
Tanner threw himself toward Luke, hugging him in a jubilant celly and even from where Sebastian sat, he could see Luke trying not to grin as he squeezed Tanner tight.
Whatever Luke said, he loved that guy. And it was clear from the video message earlier that the feeling was mutual.
As much as it pained Sebastian to admit it sometimes, the Harriers were a great team.
The frustration from New York was growing though and as the rest of the period continued, there was more shoving and grappling along the boards.
One of New York’s forwards got caught hooking a Harriers player and went to the box.
Boston nearly scored on the power play and Sebastian held his breath as Poole managed a diving kick save.
Thank fuck.
Frustration on both sides simmered as the minutes of the second period ticked down.
Tanner had been dogging Leif Rasmussen the whole game, but Rasmussen’s annoyance was clearly building. Sebastian had no idea what Tanner said along the boards near the penalty box during a stoppage in play, but Leif cross-checked Tanner in the chest, shouting something.
Tanner dropped his stick, yelling back at Rasmussen, and Rasmussen flung off his gloves and grabbed the front of Tanner’s jersey. He shook him like a rag doll but Tanner merely grinned.
They grappled for a moment, Tanner’s helmet popping off and a moment later he was on his knees, laughing up at Rasmussen and blowing him a kiss.
And then Luke was there, pulling Rasmussen away, shouting something at him. Mirsad Renner took exception to that and then Luke and Renner were squaring up, sticks and gloves flying to ice and fists coming up.
Luke ducked a hit and got a couple of solid punches in before he wrestled Renner to the ground. Sebastian chuckled as they both got dragged apart by referees and forcibly skated toward the penalty boxes.
Shit, all Luke needed now was a goal and he’d have a Gordie Howe hat trick. Too bad Luke didn’t score many. It really would be a perfect ending to this game.
“Hey,” the Rockets fan in front of Sebastian said, turning around in her seat. “Is it just me or does it seem like those two have some weird thing going on?”
“Crawford and Renner?” Sebastian asked, confused. “Uhh …”
“No!” She waved that off, laughing. “Not your man. Pretty sure he and Renner just want to kill each other.”
Sebastian nodded ruefully. That was probably accurate.
“I mean Clayton and Rasmussen,” she explained. “Like … I think they hate each other but it also seems like they kinda want to fuck about it. Totally different energy there, you know?”
Sebastian nodded. He’d wondered about that too.
“Honestly, I have no idea,” he admitted to her. “I wish I could give you some inside scoop, but I genuinely don’t know. Wouldn’t surprise me though.”
She grinned. “They kinda remind me of you and Crawford, now that I think of it.”
Laughing, Sebastian shrugged. “Should make for an interesting game, that’s for sure.”
She high fived him, then turned back to face the ice.
When Luke took a seat in the box a moment later, Sebastian yelled out. “Hey, Crawford. Nice of you to visit me.”
Luke shot him an unimpressed look over his shoulder and began polishing his visor as the referee announced the penalty.
“Hey, Crawford,” Sebastian yelled after the puck had dropped for the next faceoff and Boston had won it. “You know, if you had as many goals as you had penalty minutes, you’d probably be celebrating your two thousandth point tonight.”
Luke ducked his head but not before Sebastian saw a smile beginning to creep across his face.
A moment later, Luke called out, “Hey, Flower Boy, that was a pretty good chirp. Will you marry me?”
Sebastian threw his head back and laughed at the shocked looks on people’s faces around them, knowing Luke was just messing with him. “Not even if you begged.”
The second period ended before Luke’s penalty was up.
Sebastian got up long enough to stretch his legs and check the league standings. He pumped his fist when he realized that Washington had lost to Toronto.
No matter what happened, New York was going to the playoffs.
The third period began with Luke still in the box so he and Sebastian traded a few more chirps before Luke’s penalty ended.
Apparently, no one had told New York about the Washington game or that they’d secured their spot in the postseason because they were still battling hard.
The Rockets got a sneaky little goal a few minutes into the third period, bringing the score to 3–1.
The Harriers poured on the speed, forcing New York into their defensive zone.
The Rockets players were out for long shifts, clearly flagging as they scrambled to keep the puck out of their net.
But it was too much, even for Nicky, and despite their best efforts, there was a scrambling play in front of Poole’s crease, a pass from Graham, and Connor managed to poke one in.
4–1.
Sebastian cheered when New York managed another goal halfway through the period.
4–2.
They got a third just a few minutes later, a flukey bounce that Jesse did everything to stop. He lay there for a moment, flat on his belly and Sebastian frowned, wondering if he was injured.
He hoped not. As much as he wanted New York to win, he liked Jesse and didn’t want to see him miss the playoffs because of an injury.
But Jesse popped up a moment later, shook it off, took a drink of water, then settled back into his crease.
Both teams battled hard as the minutes went by without another goal, up and down the ice. Sebastian’s heart thudded against his breastbone as he gripped his hands tightly together, urging New York on.
With three minutes to go, he held his breath as New York pulled Roman Poole.
The score was still at 4–3 and it would be a long shot for New York to even this up, but with the extra skater on, the Rockets pushed hard, battling in their offensive zone, vying for every opportunity.
There was no hesitation now, no pause between shots.
Jesse fended off a flurry of them and Sebastian bounced his knee, the nervous energy coursing through him.
If they could get one more goal and drag the game to overtime …
But Anker cleared the puck, shooting it toward center ice where Luke hovered. Sebastian’s jaw dropped as Luke skated toward the empty net, clearly not willing to take any chances, and fired the puck in from the slot. It went in cleanly, bounced off the twine and then back out into the crease.
The lamp lit up, the crowd roared, and Luke had a Gordie Howe hat trick.
Despite himself, Sebastian grinned. The Harriers had won the game 5–3 and Sebastian couldn’t even be mad about it.
It had been a perfect game for Luke and, with any luck, New York and Boston would be up against each other in the second round of the playoffs.
Sebastian couldn’t wait.