Chapter Seven #2
Halfway through the opening period, Ryan intercepted a pass just inside our blue line and flew up ice.
Luca accelerated through the center lane, drawing one defenseman with him, and I drove along the right boards as Ryan carried the puck through neutral territory.
Their second defenseman shifted toward Ryan, expecting him to continue toward the middle, but Ryan waited until the gap opened before sliding the puck toward Luca.
Luca controlled it without breaking stride, held it long enough to pull both defenders toward him, then sent a well-timed pass across the ice into the space ahead of me.
Everything slowed.
I gathered the puck near the right faceoff circle and cut toward the slot before the nearest defenseman could recover. His stick swept toward mine, but I shifted the puck inside his reach and drove between him and his partner, using the opening Luca had created.
Their goaltender came out aggressively, lowering his stance and taking away the near side of the net.
I delayed the shot for one extra heartbeat, dragged the puck across my body, and waited until he committed before snapping a wrist shot over his blocker.
The red light flashed.
The arena erupted with enough force to make the glass vibrate.
I barely had time to lift my arms before Ryan crashed into me from one side and Luca from the other. Noah Kessler and Tyler Rasmussen reached us a heartbeat later, the five of us colliding against the glass as the crowd erupted around us.
"That's how you make an entrance," Ryan yelled.
"Luca laughed, giving the side of my helmet an affectionate shove. "Not bad for your first game in green."
The officials gave us only a few seconds before directing everyone back toward center ice.
As we skated past the bench, Coach Patrick Callahan reached over the boards and caught my shoulder with a firm tap.
"Great finish," he told me. "Now recover."
I stepped through the open gate and before I'd even sat down, Marcus Turner, Ben Walsh, Ethan Cruz, Owen Calloway, and Cole Whitaker vaulted over the boards for the next shift and hit the ice.
They established pressure inside Inland Northwest's zone, forcing their defense to ice the puck after Ben won a battle behind the net and Ethan fired a shot that rang loudly off the crossbar.
I leaned forward on the bench, breathing hard enough for every inhale to burn my lungs.
One goal.
My first game in Evergreen colors.
My first appearance in front of the home crowd.
It felt exactly like the beginning I'd imagined when I'd committed to Evergreen.
The second line stayed on long enough to keep Inland Northwest pinned in their own end before Coach pointed toward Caleb Danvers.
"You're up."
Caleb, Cameron Oates, Hunter Flint, Aidan Keane, and Reid Holloway jumped over the boards together, bringing a completely different style.
They weren't looking for highlight-reel plays.
They worked the corners relentlessly, finished every legal check, and forced the opposition to fight for every inch of ice.
Cameron won an offensive-zone faceoff cleanly, Hunter snapped a quick shot through traffic, and Caleb flattened one of their defensemen against the end boards, drawing an appreciative roar from the students behind the glass.
"They're wearing them down," Ryan observed beside me.
Coach gave a slight nod without taking his attention from what was happening on the ice.
"Exactly what they're supposed to do."
Our line climbed over the boards again thirty seconds later.
The pace never eased.
One shift blurred into another as every line contributed in its own way.
Marcus's unit generated sustained offensive pressure.
Caleb's line disrupted everything Inland Northwest tried to build through the neutral zone.
Noah and Tyler handled the toughest matchups against their top forwards, while Owen and Cole moved the puck quickly enough to keep us attacking instead of defending.
Aidan and Reid brought fresh legs every time they stepped onto the ice, keeping Oscar's crease remarkably clear whenever play drifted into our end.
Midway through the opening period Inland Northwest finally broke through.
Their defenseman released a low drive from the blue line just as two forwards crossed in front of Oscar. Noah managed to tie up one of them, but the second screened Oscar at precisely the wrong moment. By the time the puck emerged from the traffic, it was already behind him.
The arena fell strangely quiet.
1-1.
Nobody panicked.
Ryan gathered us as we waited for the officials to prepare for the next faceoff.
"We stick with our game," he reminded us. "Nothing changes."
Nobody argued.
The remainder of the period became a relentless battle.
Every line answered the challenge. Marcus's unit spent nearly a full minute cycling the puck deep before Inland Northwest finally escaped.
Caleb's line answered with several crushing but clean hits that slowed their transition game, and Oscar settled into the kind of rhythm every goaltender searched for, swallowing rebounds and directing traffic with calm authority.
By the time the horn sounded to end the period, both teams looked exhausted.
Inside the locker room Coach allowed everyone enough time to catch their breath before the lights dimmed and video clips appeared on the monitor.
"They're chasing hits instead of protecting space."
He paused the video as two Inland Northwest players converged on Luca along the boards.
"Watch what happens here."
The image remained frozen.
"Two defenders. One puck."
He pointed toward the open ice they'd abandoned.
"Every time they overcommit, they're giving us space somewhere else. Move the puck before the contact arrives. Trust your support. Make them pay for every mistake."
Lauren McKenna stepped forward.
"Keep your feet underneath you through the neutral zone. Don't coast after releasing the puck. Beat them into open ice."
Nolan Pierce rewound another sequence.
"Our gaps are good. Stay patient. Force them wide and let Oscar see the puck."
Finally Viktor Sokolov addressed Oscar with advice.
Coach looked around the room.
"We've been the better team."
He folded his arms.
"Now prove it on the scoreboard."
The second period belonged almost entirely to Evergreen.
Marcus's line set the tone without delay.
Ben won the opening draw back to Owen, whose shot intentionally missed the net and wrapped around the boards to Ethan. Ethan controlled it, found Marcus near the circle, and Marcus forced an excellent save that left the Inland Northwest goaltender scrambling.
The pressure continued.
Cole Whitaker kept two clearing attempts inside the blue line before sending the puck back toward the corner where Ben outmuscled his defender and worked it behind the net.
Our bench came alive.
"Keep rolling!" Coach barked.
When Ryan tapped my shoulder, our line jumped over the boards against a tired defensive unit that had already spent nearly a minute trapped inside its own zone.
"They're gassed," Ryan muttered.
I could see it.
Their defensemen reached with their sticks instead of moving their feet.
Luca circled behind the net, drawing both defenders with him before slipping the puck toward me along the boards. I carried it behind the goal as their captain chased close enough that I could hear every hard stride.
Ryan drifted into the high slot. Nobody picked him up but the opening existed for barely a second. I threaded the puck backward between two sticks and Ryan stepped into it.
His one-timer screamed past the goaltender before anyone reacted. The red light flashed and Evergreen reclaimed the lead.
2-1.
This time our celebration lasted only briefly before we headed toward the bench.
Coach met Ryan first, then caught my shoulder with another quick pat.
"Well done."
Coming from him, those two words meant everything.
As I settled onto the bench waiting for the next rotation, I glanced toward the tunnel.
Jack stood beside Graham and the equipment staff.
He wasn't cheering wildly like everyone else.
He smiled my way and lifted one thumb.
For reasons I still couldn't explain, seeing that approval filled me with as much satisfaction as the assist I'd just recorded.
The third period became exactly the kind of battle Coach had predicted.
Inland Northwest threw everything they had at us, rolling all four lines and forcing Oscar to make several outstanding saves as they searched desperately for an equalizer.
Every shift became a grind. Marcus's line spent nearly a minute pinned inside our defensive zone before finally clearing the puck.
Caleb's unit answered with a bruising shift that burned valuable time off the clock, while Noah and Tyler continued matching up against Inland Northwest's top line whenever Coach wanted our best defensive pair on the ice.
With just under four minutes remaining, Inland Northwest pulled its goaltender for an extra attacker.
Coach leaned over the boards.
"First line!"
The five of us jumped over together.
The pressure inside our zone was relentless. Oscar smothered one rebound before Tyler cleared another loose puck into the corner. Noah blocked a slap shot that echoed through the arena before Ryan tied up their captain long enough for me to intercept a pass near our own blue line.
The empty net beckoned from the opposite end of the rink. I had a shot. Instead, I banked the puck safely off the boards into neutral ice and Ryan reached it in full stride. He crossed center ice and slid the puck into the abandoned cage.
3-1.
The final two minutes disappeared beneath a wall of noise as Evergreen celebrated every blocked shot, every clearance, and every save.
When the final horn sounded, years of rivalry gave way to tradition.