Scoring Position (Hockey Ever After #2)

by Ashlyn Kane

The thing about preseason games, Nico thought bitterly, was the lineup was so full of call-ups and rookies that nothing was predictable. That was how Nico found himself at center ice, facing off against Nashville’s third line with Wright on his wing. Not even Vorhees would pair Nico with Wright on the regular—they both played center. It made no sense. Sure, they might share the ice now and again in a pinch, but that was it. But in the preseason, coaches sometimes just threw things at the wall to see what stuck. And tonight, that thing was Nico. The ref dropped the puck and they were off. Nico won the faceoff and got the puck to Wright, who took it left and up the ice, and Nico gave chase. Halfway through the first period, neither team had scored and Nico had spent more than one shift awkwardly aware of Wright on his wing, calling for the puck and getting into the face of whichever opponent was closest. Nico needed to tune him out or at least turn down the dial on his own annoyance. But he couldn’t, and his frustration built. Wright tapped his stick on the boards and called out encouragement to Chenner as he skated past. Nico gritted his teeth against his mouth guard. Why did he have to be so loud? By the time Nico slipped back over the boards for his next shift, his annoyance had shifted into anger. He took the faceoff in Nashville’s end, snapped the puck from under the nose of the opposing center, and sent the puck straight to Wright. Wright sniped it to Chenner, who brou...