Travis figured it was an impossible task. The Toronto Towers were ahead 3–1 by the end of the first period. The Screech Owls simply didn’t have the depth on the bench. Nish was playing, and giving everything he had, but he was slowed down by his bad ankle and had been on for two of the Toronto goals.

Muck didn’t seem alarmed. At the break he simply went over the forechecking plan on his little blackboard. “It’s coming,” Muck said. “It’s coming.”

In the second period a pass hit Travis on the shin pad. The puck bounced ahead and over the defenceman’s sweeping stick, but the defender was quick enough to wrap an arm around Travis, blocking him from the puck.

No matter–Dmitri had it. He flew down the ice, faked a pass to Derek coming in from the left, and fired a shot along the ice that went in under the goaltender’s stick. 3–2, Toronto Towers.

It remained 3–2 into the third. Travis looked toward Nish at the far end of the bench. He was bent over, holding his ankle, and there were tears falling off his cheek. He was in terrible pain but had said nothing. And Muck, standing behind him, hadn’t noticed. When Muck touched the back of Nish’s sweater, he jumped right over the boards. He was going to give everything he had.

Nish tried a rush and made it to centre. A Tower hit him and the puck lay, untouched, at centre ice, where Liz picked it up and made a magnificent (was it accidental?) spinnerama move that took her around a check and created a two-on-one with Andy Higgins.

Liz hit Andy inside the blueline and Andy tried the big slap shot that usually caused Muck to roll his eyes. But for once the stick connected perfectly. The puck blew right through the Towers’ goaltender’s glove. 3–3–tied.