Scoring Position (Hockey Ever After #2)

by Ashlyn Kane

It was weird standing in the wrong color jersey for a home game, hearing the wrong anthem playing over the speakers. But it was already less weird than it had been in the preseason, and Ryan knew he’d get used to it in no time, just like he was getting used to the different style of hockey here, which was slower and more conservative than Montreal’s. Part of that was the lack of depth on defense—Ryan didn’t want to disparage his teammates, but Kitty had to hold the blue line pretty much by himself—and part of it was the team’s aging core. Greenie was thirty-five. Grange was thirty-seven. Old men in hockey years. But tonight they were playing well. Grange and Kirschbaum centered the first and second lines, and Ryan’s line—supposedly a checking line meant to frustrate their opponents—held their own, though Ryan felt Chenner’s absence. They were down 1–0 after Columbus sneaked one under Greenie’s pads when Ryan took a stupid high-sticking penalty and ended up in the box. He was chewing his mouth guard in agitation at himself—he was one of the team’s better penalty killers—when Kirschbaum streaked off the bench with a face like a thundercloud. The second he set foot on the ice, he intercepted a sloppy pass at the blue line. He had the defensemen on their heels as he weaved around them as if they were pylons. His zone entry was flawless. Ryan was standing to get a better view before he even registered what was happening. Nico toe-dragged around the goaltender and had him beaten...