Page 94 of Rookie Rules

"Our coverage. Fix the layers."

Mateo nodded. Luca did too.

The Wolves had entered the night 5-3, newly interesting and still vulnerable to believing attention meant arrival. The visiting broadcast had spent warmups discussing Northstar's dangerous duo. The opponent spent the first period making sure Luca and Rowan had no clean ice to justify the title.

Northstar tied the game on the next power play. Finn recovered a rebound, moved it behind the net, and Luca found Rowan in the slot. Rowan's shot changed direction off a defender and entered beneath the bar.

1-1.

The line celebrated, reset, and for six minutes looked like the version television preferred.

Then Gabriel allowed the second goal.

The shot came from above the left circle with no screen. He tracked it, set his feet, and reached with the glove half a beat after the puck passed.

The red light came on.

Gabriel remained in his crouch for one second longer than necessary.

Luca saw it from the right wing. No visible collapse. No gesture toward the ice. Only stillness while the arena noise changed around him.

At the bench, Benji stopped chewing his mouthguard.

"Did it dip?" Eli asked quietly.

Nolan shook his head. "Next shift."

No one answered the real question.

Gabriel made the next save cleanly, freezing a low shot without rebound. Mateo skated through the crease afterward and tapped the goalie's pad with his stick.

Normal contact. No consolation attached.

The period should have ended 2-1. With twenty-eight seconds left, Northstar failed to clear the zone twice. Rowan won the first puck and lost the second along the wall. A point shot traveled through Finn's legs, struck Nolan's shin pad, and changed direction.

Gabriel moved with the original line.

The deflection went against it.

1-3.

The horn sounded before Northstar could take another draw.

In the room, Vale played no clips. He stood near the center logo in the carpet and waited for the noise of equipment to settle.

"First goal, layers," he said. "Second, a save we need. Third, a clear we owe him. Do not turn three different problems into one story."

Gabriel sat at his stall with his mask on the shelf above him. His dark hair was wet at the temples. He drank once and placed the bottle between his skates.

"I was late on the second," he said.

No excuse. No request for anyone to disagree.

Vale nodded. "Then be on time for the next one. The rest of you give him one read, not four."

Rowan took over the tactical correction. Short exits. Strong-side support. No winger leaving before possession. He did not offer a speech about belief because Gabriel would have heard it as evidence the room had lost some.

Luca watched the captain work.