The Illicit Ice Hockey Chapters: One of the most popular scenes from Much Ado About Corona

Last post, I shared a testimonial from NHL veteran, Mark Bell. That sure brought back fond memories of all the time I spent watching endless hockey games (purely for research, I swear) and writing and rewriting the chapters of Much Ado About Corona with the ice hockey scenes. Many readers tell me those were some of their favourite chapters in the novel.

Set in December 2020, the arena in the small town of Moosehead is shut down under scamdemic lockdown orders. But when you're a true Canadian who loves hockey, a little thing like an $880 fine (and hypothermia-inducing temperatures) won't stop you from getting your ice time. So Vincent McKnight and his buddies decide to face the bitter cold of Northern Ontario to play on the French River.

Here's a snippet:

Léo skated to centre. I pushed forward to meet him.

"Nah," said Léo, shooing me aside with his stick. "Let me face off with Raj."

"Sure."

I shrugged and skated back toward the net, as Raj glided into my spot.

"Here's the deal," said Léo, looking at Raj, big smirk across his face. "If I score, then you get your mother to let me have a real date with your sister. If you score, then I'll get you a date with my sister."

"But I don't want a date with your sister," exclaimed Raj. "She's a moose."

"Hey!" I cut in. "Whaddya got against moose?"

"Nothing. Just don't want to go out with one."

"Then you better let me win," said Léo.

"Forget it, Léo," said AJ, holding the puck out in the air between the two. "Her mother's never going to let her marry a plumber. Bindu's a lawyer. Her husband must be a doctor. It's astrology 101. Time to move on."

"Thanks," said Léo, eyes fixed on centre ice, "but I never take dating advice from a surgeon."

AJ snorted behind his mask.

Then he dropped the puck.

And covered his ears.

Rrrrrrr!

The short wail of a siren blasted across the ice.

Raj froze and Léo took off with the puck.

My head snapped in the direction of the riverbank. A police cruiser, lights flashing red and blue, had just pulled up beside the bread van.

The moose joke will only make you really laugh if you've read the setup in the earlier chapters. So, if you haven't read Much Ado About Corona yet, you can get all the ungulate humour (and if you don't know what an ungulate is, you'll learn that, too), plus find out what happens next, by purchasing a copy.

And if you already own a copy, why not order more as gifts for all the die-hard hockey fans in your life? Nothing says "I understand your love of the game" more than a story about four guys who are willing to risk jail time to slap a puck across a frozen river under a sky full of stars.

John C.A. Manley

PS Did you miss NHL hockey star, Mark Bell's review of Much Ado About Corona? Then skate on over here to read it now.