Page 165 of Rookie Rules

The room breathed again.

As they stood, Luca caught Owen near the treatment-room door.

"Is he okay?"

Owen's expression gave nothing away. "He is stable. Out for the game. Imaging after."

"Can he walk?"

"Not usefully."

Luca's hands tightened inside his gloves.

Owen lowered his voice. "He is exactly where he needs to be. So are you."

The sentence closed the door kindly.

Luca returned to the ice.

The third period opened 2-2. The crowd had learned about Rowan's absence from the bench and filled the arena with anxious volume. Every time the camera found the tunnel, people stood hoping the captain might appear.

He did not.

The replacement center lost his first draw. Northstar defended for forty seconds while the opponent moved the puck from wall to point and tried to pull him out of position. Gabriel stopped the first shot, kicked the rebound beyond the crease, and stayed square for the second. Finn reached the loose puck and sent it the length of the ice, then shouted for the change before anyone stretched the shift.

The next unit gave them a clean minute. Nolan denied an entry at the blue line. Jace put a low shot on net and forced an offensive-zone faceoff. Nothing spectacular happened, which was the point: the team absorbed Rowan's absence without asking one line to solve it immediately.

On Luca's next turn, the opponent attacked his side again. The winger carried below the hash marks while the center drove the crease, looking for Luca to chase the puck and leave the slot. Luca stayed inside the hands and forced a bad-angle shot. Gabriel sealed the post, and the rebound dropped near the bottom of the circle.

Luca reached it first. Finn was already turning up the left side, and only one defenseman had enough depth to contain both lanes.

Luca accelerated through neutral ice. The crowd rose with him. Speed plus hands plus one defender had created half the highlights attached to his name, and the open ice offered the familiar answer: make the problem his alone.

Finn's lane opened.

Luca held the puck.

The defender stepped into him and knocked it away.

No shot. No pass. The rush died against the boards.

Luca circled back furious.

On the bench, Finn handed him the water bottle. "You see me?"

"Yes."

"Then use what you see. Nineteen is not here to call it for either of us."

Luca tightened his grip on the bottle. "Is that all you mean?"

Finn kept his eyes on the play. Nolan reversed the puck and the replacement center called the exit from the middle. Around them, the bench remained crowded with movement and noise.

"I know hockey," Finn said. "I know when two linemates stop trusting the same read. I do not need the reason on this bench, or anywhere else."

Luca waited.

Finn turned only long enough to make the boundary clear. "I need you to pass when I am open. I need Hale to recover. Everything beyond that belongs to the people involved."