Page 179 of Cheap Shot

Laughing, Sebastian shrugged. “Should make for an interesting game, that’s for sure.”

She high fived him, then turned back to face the ice.

When Luke took a seat in the box a moment later, Sebastian yelled out. “Hey, Crawford. Nice of you to visit me.”

Luke shot him an unimpressed look over his shoulder and began polishing his visor as the referee announced the penalty.

“Hey, Crawford,” Sebastian yelled after the puck had dropped for the next faceoff and Boston had won it. “You know, if you had as many goals as you had penalty minutes, you’d probably be celebrating your two thousandth point tonight.”

Luke ducked his head but not before Sebastian saw a smile beginning to creep across his face.

A moment later, Luke called out, “Hey, Flower Boy, that was a pretty good chirp. Will you marry me?”

Sebastian threw his head back and laughed at the shocked looks on people’s faces around them, knowing Luke was just messing with him. “Not even if youbegged.”

The second period ended before Luke’s penalty was up.

Sebastian got up long enough to stretch his legs and check the league standings. He pumped his fist when he realized that Washington had lost to Toronto.

No matter what happened, New York was going to the playoffs.

The third period began with Luke still in the box so he and Sebastian traded a few more chirps before Luke’s penalty ended.

Apparently, no one had told New York about the Washington game or that they’d secured their spot in the postseason because they were still battlinghard.

The Rockets got a sneaky little goal a few minutes into the third period, bringing the score to 3–1.

The Harriers poured on the speed, forcing New York into their defensive zone. The Rockets players were out for long shifts, clearly flagging as they scrambled to keep the puck out of their net. But it was too much, even for Nicky, and despite their bestefforts, there was a scrambling play in front of Poole’s crease, a pass from Graham, and Connor managed to poke one in.

4–1.

Sebastian cheered when New York managed another goal halfway through the period.

4–2.

They got a third just a few minutes later, a flukey bounce that Jesse did everything to stop. He lay there for a moment, flat on his belly and Sebastian frowned, wondering if he was injured.

He hoped not. As much as he wanted New York to win, he liked Jesse and didn’t want to see him miss the playoffs because of an injury.

But Jesse popped up a moment later, shook it off, took a drink of water, then settled back into his crease.

Both teams battled hard as the minutes went by without another goal, up and down the ice. Sebastian’s heart thudded against his breastbone as he gripped his hands tightly together, urging New York on.

With three minutes to go, he held his breath as New York pulled Roman Poole.

The score was still at 4–3 and it would be a long shot for New York to even this up, but with the extra skater on, the Rockets pushed hard, battling in their offensive zone, vying for every opportunity.

There was no hesitation now, no pause between shots.

Jesse fended off a flurry of them and Sebastian bounced his knee, the nervous energy coursing through him.

If they could get one more goal and drag the game to overtime …

But Anker cleared the puck, shooting it toward center ice where Luke hovered. Sebastian’s jaw dropped as Luke skated toward the empty net, clearly not willing to take any chances, and fired the puck in from the slot. It went in cleanly, bounced off the twine and then back out into the crease.

The lamp lit up, the crowd roared, and Luke had a Gordie Howe hat trick.

Despite himself, Sebastian grinned. The Harriers had won the game 5–3 and Sebastian couldn’t even be mad about it.