Page 166 of Rookie Rules

Then he tapped his stick against the boards and called a warning to Mateo as the opponent changed.

Relief did not make Luca less exposed, but it gave him a fact he could use. Finn had noticed the fracture and chosen neither gossip nor interrogation. He had asked for the next playable thing.

The opponent scored at four twelve. Their defenseman kept a clearing attempt inside the blue line and sent it low. The replacement center followed his man behind the net, trying to deny the return pass, while Mateo stepped down to help. The movement left the high slot unattended.

Finn recognized the overload and released from the wall, but the puck emerged before he could close the distance. The opposing winger shot through Nolan's attempted block and beat Gabriel above the blocker.

2-3.

The replacement center struck his stick once against his pad. "I chased below."

"So did they expect you to," Finn said. "Next time I take low. You hold the middle."

Luca listened to both men, then pointed toward the far defenseman. "Their weak side drops when the cycle starts. If we recover, the wall behind him will be open."

He nodded. The correction took less time than blame would have.

At the faceoff, the replacement center apologized for losing coverage.

"Next read," Luca said.

The words sounded like Rowan. The intention belonged to Luca.

Northstar pressed, but the first response produced possession without access to the middle. Nolan pinched carefully and sent two pucks behind the net. The opponent collapsed five skaters below the tops of the circles, inviting point shots Gabriel's counterpart could see.

Jace drew a penalty by beating a defenseman off the wall. On the power play, Luca received at the right circle, where Rowan normally gave him a low option. The replacement center occupied the position but arrived with his stick turned toward the boards. Luca tried to force the seam anyway. The penalty killer deflected the pass out of the zone.

At the bench, Luca drew the route on his glove with one finger. "Blade inside when I have it high. If they take you, Finn has the back door."

He adjusted on the next entry. The lane opened, but Finn's one-timer struck the goalie's shoulder and climbed into the netting. The penalty expired without a goal.

The failed power play still changed the defense. On the next even-strength shift, their low forward stayed attached to the replacement center. That left more room above the circles. Mateo used it, separating a winger from the puck and moving it to Nolan instead of taking the extra hit everyone expected.

As the clock moved beneath ten minutes, Northstar had established where the next opening would be. They still had to reach it before urgency made them impatient.

Luca's line entered with Finn carrying left. The defense shaded toward Luca before he touched the puck. Finn saw it and sent the puck low to the replacement center. Luca drove the net, taking both defenders with him.

The center reversed to Nolan at the point. Because Luca had taken both defenders below the hash marks, Nolan received with enough time to pull the puck around the first blocking stick. Jace, double-shifted after the rotation changed, slid into the soft space above the crease.

Nolan waited for Jace's blade to clear the defenseman's skate, then sent the shot through the screen. Jace changed its direction below the crossbar.

3-3.

The goal belonged to five men making the next read. Luca received no point. He screamed anyway.

The opponent answered with its best line, trying to regain the lead before Northstar could settle. The replacement center lost the draw but recovered beneath the puck. Finn blocked the return lane. Luca forced the carrier outside, and Gabriel held the shot without allowing a rebound.

They changed together after forty-one seconds.

The next Wolves unit carried play into the offensive zone and made the opponent ice the puck. Vale used the stoppage to rest Luca's line rather than send them back immediately. When he finally tapped their shoulders, the clock showed just over three minutes and the faceoff was in neutral ice. The chance that followed would come from pressure every unit had helped sustain.

At the bench, Vale put one hand against Luca's helmet. "That drive created it."

Luca nodded, breathing hard.

Once, he would have needed the score sheet to agree.

With three minutes left, Owen appeared at the tunnel mouth. Rowan stood behind him in compression shorts and a team jacket, weight on crutches. His right leg touched the floor lightly. Pain had stripped the usual color from his face.