CHAPTER 10
At the start of the third period, Travis and Peter passed the puck back and forth across the blue line. Nick and Tommy were back playing defense for the Rangers.
Travis flicked the puck over to Peter. Tommy had a chance to knock the puck away, but instead, he drove his body into Peter’s chest. He slammed into him and knocked him off the puck.
“That’s the way to do it!” shouted Dylan.
Nick swiped the puck with his stick and quickly passed it forward. Tommy skated hard down the left side of the ice, and Nick skated down the middle.
The Rangers player passed the puck back to Nick, who sent it across the ice to Tommy. Nick darted around a defender and skated toward the goal. Tommy flicked the puck back to him.
Nick received the pass, faked the goalie to his right, and swept across the goal for a backhand. The puck hit the back of the net.
“Goal!” shouted Dylan. He shared a fist bump with Coach Erickson.
The Rangers continued to take Dylan’s advice. They were putting their bodies on the Scouts, and Tommy was shadowing Peter nonstop.
The strategy was working. The Scouts didn’t get a shot on goal for the first six minutes of the third period.
The Scouts were getting frustrated. As Tommy took the puck down the ice, Peter swung his stick hard at Tommy’s knees. The referee blew his whistle. Peter was called for slashing and sent to the penalty box.
“Nice,” Dylan whispered.
The Rangers took advantage of the second power play. Nick skated behind the net as Tommy positioned himself in front of the goal. Nick faked out a player rushing toward him and passed the puck to Tommy. Tommy did a one-timer, meeting Nick’s pass with an immediate slap shot.
The goalie never had a chance. The puck sailed past him into the net.
“Goal!” shouted Dylan. “It’s all tied up!”
There were only two minutes left in the game. “No overtime, guys!” Dylan shouted. “Let’s win this thing right now!”
The clock continued to count down as Nick, Tommy, and the other Rangers tried to control the puck. But on a bad pass from Tommy, Travis intercepted the puck. Only Nick was nearby to stop him from scoring.
“Force him left,” Dylan yelled.
Nick skated backward, staying in front of Travis. But Travis tried to skate around Nick and go right.
“Play the body!” shouted Dylan.
Nick waited for the right opportunity, and then lunged forward. He put his shoulder and elbow into Travis’s chest, forcing him to the left and off the puck.
Travis lost his balance and stumbled. The puck was left wide open.
“Go, Nick!” Dylan shouted.
Nick reached for the puck and pushed it forward. He crossed the blue line. Tommy skated toward the right side of the goal. Nick fired a pass in his direction.
Tommy took two hard strides around his defender and blasted a wrist shot high above the goalie’s shoulder. The shot was perfect. It sailed into the net.
“Goal!” shouted Dylan. He turned to Coach Erickson for a high-five.
Ten seconds were left on the clock. The Rangers were ahead, 3-2.
Dylan counted down as seconds ticked away. The final horn sounded. Everyone, including Dylan, stormed the ice.
“That was a team victory all the way!” Coach Erickson shouted. “Here you go, guys!” He handed the Midwinter Meltdown trophy to Nick and Tommy.
Nick and Tommy lifted the trophy high above their heads. “Dylan, get in here!” shouted Nick.
“You guys won it,” Dylan said, shaking his head. “You deserve to carry it.”
“We all deserve to carry it,” said Tommy. “This is a team win, and you’re part of the team.”
Dylan lifted the trophy high above his head, and the team cheered. “We’re the champs!” Nick shouted.
“And next year I’ll actually get to be on the ice,” Dylan said. “The Scouts won’t know what hit them!”