Page 13 of Dangle

Snow flew from my skates as I tore down the ice toward the puck, watching the lanes, looking for the play, any play. Ethan Ruggers had the puck, but CU had him penned in.

“Pass!” I yelled, tapping my stick.

The puck spun across the ice toward me. CU’s huge ass defenseman chased after it.

Smirking at him as I scooped it up, I spun around him, calling out, “Not today, Neanderthal!” as I barreled up the ice. Zane Tyler, my right winger, moved into place. Ethan shouldered the CU player, who was humping his back, out of the way.

The puck danced around my stick as I waited.

Hold.

Hold.

Damn! Zane and Ethan both got blocked in. With a quick spin to miss the defenseman coming at me head-on, the clock came into view. Less than five minutes. Down by one.

Another spin put the guy from CU behind me.

C’mon!

Twitch, fucker!

Faking a shot, I pushed the puck back instead of forward…

Yes!

Flipping to my backhand, I let the puck fly.

Horns sounded. Lights flashed.

“Hell, yeah!” I screamed.

The cheers of the crowd enveloped me. The guys surrounded me. Shook me. Screamed and cursed in relief at the goal that tied the game.

“NO GOAL! Five-minute major, number twenty-one Maulers, elbow to the face.”

Like a vacuum had sucked it up, the sound disappeared.

Turning slowly, I looked, and sure enough, the defenseman I’d dangled stood where I’d left him in my snow, holding hisface, blood dripping through his fingers to splatter on the ice like a modern art canvas gone wild.

Closing my eyes, I sighed. Fuck my ever-loving life.

“Fuck this shit!” Ethan said.

Isaiah skated toward the ref to plead for a minor instead of the major, but I knew it would do no good. The guy was fucking bleeding. No way would they downgrade it.

Turning to Isaac, Zane, and Ethan, I said, “You guys got this. I know you do. Sink the puck and send us to OT.”

I gave knucks all around, including to Isaiah, who skated over to me as I made my way back to the box.

“I tried, man,” Isaiah said.

“I know you did. It’s fine. Looks like I broke his fucking nose.”

The box official welcomed me back with a hateful sneer.

Four minutes, seventeen seconds later…

Pandemonium broke out.