Page 164 of Game Misconduct

But the Rockets somehow managed to dig deep in the third game, bouncing back to snag a win. They did the same in game five, lost game six, then battled their way back to win game seven.

It was by the slimmest margin, a flukey goal in double overtime, but they did it.

Which meant that Tanner and Leif would finally be going up against each other in the second round.

Unfortunately, the Rocket’s asshole coach ruined any chance of Leif and Tanner spending time together during it. He’d given the Rockets a curfew and was even having the team stay in a Manhattan hotel during the home games.

“I hate him,” Tanner said flatly. “You can’t fucking make a team come together that way. Forced team bonding is bullshit.”

“It is,” Leif agreed with a sigh. “Let’s be honest, we don’t have a bonded locker room and a couple of movie nights at a hotel isn’t going to do it.”

“But I’ll see you on the ice,” Tanner said hopefully.

“Yeah.” Leif smiled. “I’ll see you on the ice.”

Leif wasn’t shocked when they lost the first two games against the Harriers. Boston had home ice advantage, and the Harriers were rested whereas the Rockets were already feeling the strain.

Several guys were out with injuries, the locker room felt tense as hell, and Nicky seemed to be doing his best to hold it all together.

But when the team lost in the third game to the Harriers at home in New York, that was when Leifreallystarted to worry.

The mood was tight in the locker room for game four.

Leif could almost taste the tension in the air as he laced his skates before warmups and he had to close his eyes and do his deep breathing during the singing of the national anthem. Onthe ice for the first period, he played with the kind of desperation he’d never felt before and on his second shift out there, he scored a goal.

The Harriers retaliated almost immediately after on a breakaway from Graham Pennington.

In the second period, Nicky scored for the Rockets, and despite their defensive flaws, Roman Poole kept the Harriers from scoring.

Nicky looked like a man ready to go to war in the third period, and seven minutes in, Mirsad Renner drew a penalty, giving them the man advantage.

Leif had been the trigger man on the power play for most of the season, but they’d decided to switch it up tonight to one of the alternate plays that they’d practiced, with Nicky in that spot.

It worked too, because Leif passed to Nicky and Ian managed to screen Jesse Webber so Nicky could fire in a shot that he never saw coming.

The Harriers retaliated with a goal from Tanner, but Poole stood on his head for the rest of the period, and his diving save in the final seconds of the period kept the Harriers from tying it up and dragging it to overtime.

The sound of the game horn was sweet and the mood was jubilant in the Rockets’ locker room after. Nicky was beaming so wide, Leif though his face might crack in two.

“We’re still fucking in it, boys!” he shouted.

A whoop went up around the room and Nicky threw his arms around Leif and Ian, and Leif laughed and hugged him back. Fuck, he could barely believe they’d managed it.

“Did you hear how loud the building was tonight?” Nicky said, still beaming. “We have the best fans. God, I’ve fucking missed playoff hockey!”

Leif felt a surge of joy go through him but as he pulled away, he saw the little clumps of guys talking, Renner and Palmer eyeing him and Ian and Nicky suspiciously like they were going to start making out in the locker room or something.

Leif’s mood fell a little. He would have snorted at the idea—he had no desire to kiss anyone in this locker room, thank you, but that distrust, thatdisgust, from someone who was supposed to be his ownteammatestung.

And Leif felt a sliver of anxiety as he thought about the way the groups never really came together. He wondered if this win would be enough to pull them from their cliques into a trueteam, but how?

And as Leif watched Poole limping toward the training rooms, a grimace on his face, he felt that anxiety grow.

They were all banged up, but their goalie was feeling it the most. He’d been playing lights out all season but with the gaping holes in their defense, would it be enough?

Leif took a seat, put his head down, and breathed.

Tanner had the tunes pumping in the locker room before game five against the Rockets and he grinned at the sight of Jesse and Kady dancing in their stalls, already dressed in their skates, pants and bulky pads on the bottom and just a base layer on top.