Chapter Ten

EMPTY NETTER

Before I could think better, I slowly skated out to center ice. Bobby lined up for the face-off. I line up to the right of him, as right winger. Milo lined up to the left of him, as left winger.

“Hey, Jim!” Bobby called. “How is a bad hockey player like the Titanic?”

I shrugged my shoulders.

“They are terrible as soon as they hit the ice!” He laughed.

“HAHAHA! Very funny,” Milo said from the other side of the ice. “But you really shouldn’t tell jokes during a hockey game, Bobby.”

“Yeah, and why’s that, Cabrera?” asked Bobby.

“Because the ice might crack up!” Milo howled.

Everyone laughed — even the Dinos players!

BREEEEEEEEP!

The referee blew his whistle and held a puck in the air.

The arena went silent until — PLINK! — the puck hit the ice and the clock started.

Twenty-seven . . . Twenty-six . . .

CRASH! KLANK! Bobby batted sticks with the Dinos’ center until the puck finally came lose. It skittered over to the left side of the rink, and Milo took control.

Twenty . . . Nineteen . . .

Phew, I thought.

I was somewhat relieved. With less than twenty seconds remaining, I just had to avoid the puck. I’d have another whole week to practice with the Tiny Twirlers.

Just then, I heard Milo call out, “Heads up, Jim!”

He jammed his hockey stick behind the puck and flicked his wrists. The puck floated across the ice toward me.

TWACK! The puck hit the blade of my stick and stuck there like glue.

I looked up at the scoreboard clock. “Uh-oh,” I said.

Ten . . . Nine . . .

“Show me what you’ve got, Jim!” I heard a tiny voice from the stands.

It was Meg. She was sitting in the bleachers behind the goal, wearing a sparkling uniform and smiling.

Five . . . Four . . .

I pushed off the ice with my skates, controlling the puck in front of me. I didn’t look down. I imagined gliding across the pond on a worn pair of boots. I imagined pushing a sock-puck across my kitchen floor.

Only one Dino defensive player stood between me and the goal. As I skated closer, the player crouched low, ready to check me into the boards.

I crouched low too. But right before we collided, I extended my legs like a spring. I leaped into the air, spinning once, twice (maybe THREE times!), right over the top of the Dino player.

Three . . . Two . . .

I stuck the landing perfectly, coming down right behind the puck. I immediately controlled the puck again, and then looked up at the goal ahead.

Where’s the goalie? I wondered, spotting an open net in front of me.

One . . .

I didn’t wait for an answer. I pulled my stick back behind my head and unleashed a superpowered slapshot.

KA-POW! The puck rocketed into the net and the final buzzer sounded.

BREEEEEEEEEEEP!

“You did it!” Milo exclaimed, skating up and giving me a high-five.

My other teammates crowded around as well. They cheered, slapping me on the helmet and shoulder pads.

“Nice work, Nasium,” said Bobby. “We obviously couldn’t have won this game without you.” He pointed up at the scoreboard.

The final score read:

Dinos 0

Buffaloes 7

So I guess I wasn’t a rink rock star, after all. But I wasn’t a hockey hazard either, and that felt pretty good

Just then, an old, bald man with inch-thick glasses and a walking cane shuffled onto the ice. It was the coach of the Dodge City Dinos.

(Milo had been right. He did look a bit prehistoric.)

“In all my years, I haven’t seen anything like that,” he said, shaking my hand. “Well, maybe during the 1909 championship game. But back then we didn’t have sticks or pucks or ice. We used a rolled-up ball of socks! Can you believe that, sonny?”

I laughed.

“Anyway, congratulations,” he said. “You have my respect.”

“To celebrate,” Coach Pittman chimed in, “I’m taking you all out for doughnuts!”

Everyone cheered — except Bobby, who gagged a little.

“As much as I love doughnuts, Coach,” I told him, “there’s something I have to do.”

Just then, I removed my hockey uniform to reveal a shiny, sequined figure-skating uniform beneath. Then Meg and the other Tiny Twirlers joined me on the ice.

I smiled and said, “My team is counting on me!”