He raised his stick. “Quick pass,” Charlie said.

Jonathon’s head was down, though. He continued around the net for the wraparound. The goalie saw it coming and easily batted the puck into the corner. Charlie gave chase. A Tornadoes defenceman was there first and fired it around the boards and out of the zone. The puck slid deep into the Hawks’ zone. Scott hustled back. Charlie saw Mike standing up at the bench.

“Joyce, change it up. Come on. Move it.”

He ignored him. It was 8–1, and he’d hardly played all game. He wanted one more rush. He circled near his own blue line and Scott hit him with a hard pass. He had to swerve quickly to avoid a forechecker. The Tornadoes’ centre pressured him next, but Charlie was able to swing past him with a neat move, slipping the puck between his skates. Nick joined the rush, with Jonathon on the left and David standing near the far blue line. Charlie headmanned it to Nick, and the smooth-skating defenceman hoofed it up the left side.

Nick crossed the blue line, holding up close to the boards near the top of the circle, the right defenceman watching him closely. David went straight for the net, attracting the other defenceman. A Tornadoes forward charged Nick, bending down low, stick and right leg along the ice. That left a gap at the top of the slot. Nick saw it and saucered the puck over the forward’s leg. Charlie arrived precisely as the puck touched the ice.

The goalie came well out in a deep crouch, glove hand up high. David and the defenceman battled for position in front. The goalie was playing him to shoot. Charlie was about to fake a shot and try a move short side, when he heard his name called. Jonathon was perched at the far side of the net, all alone. Charlie slid the puck across without hesitation.

“Lots of time,” Charlie said.

Jonathon was either too excited or too nervous. Instead of stopping the puck and tapping it into the open net, he tried to deflect it in one motion. The puck slipped off the heel of his stick and into the corner. A Tornadoes player got the puck and iced it.

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The icing call meant a line change. Disappointed, Charlie skated to his bench. A stick hit his shin pads.

“Beautiful pass,” Jonathon said, shaking his head. “Could I have had more time? I thought there was a guy right on me.”

Charlie didn’t have the heart to tell him otherwise. Why bother? It would only make him feel bad about missing the open net. “It was a good play. You just fanned on it. Part of the game. You’ll get the next one.”

On the bench Jonathon smacked his linemates’ helmets. “Not a bad effort,” he said. “One goal, and we should have had another. Give us a bit more ice time and we’ll tie this baby up.”

Charlie knew that wasn’t likely.

From Rebel Power Play. Text copyright © 2009 by David Skuy. All rights reserved.