Michigan's top line stays out, desperate to score and force overtime. Their center wins the faceoff clean, sending it back to their defenseman, who winds up for a one-timer. I drop to one knee, the puck hitting me square in the shin pad. The pain registers distantly—more data than sensation.
"Clear it!" Viktor screams.
Jackson sends it down the length of the ice. Icing, but it burns precious seconds off the clock. Forty-five seconds left of my college career.
Another faceoff in our zone. This time, Connor wins possession and passes it back to me. I send it around the boards where Henneman battles their forward.
Twenty seconds.
The puck bounces to Michigan’s center in the slot. A golden chance. Viktor pushes across, stacking the pads. The save of his fucking life.
“Ten seconds!” Coach Nieminen shouts, his voice barely audible.
I dive to block a shot, the puck ricocheting off my stick and into the corner. Henneman ties it up once again as the clock ticks down.
Three.
Two.
One.
The buzzer sounds and the arena explodes.
Back-to-back champions.
The ice becomes a blur of bodies, my teammates piling onto Viktor in a massive dogpile. I skate to the corner, chest heaving, trying to process everything. Four years of memories in this jersey. Two championships. One perfect ending.
The weight of it all hits at once.
Jackson skates over, throwing an arm around my shoulders. "Gonna miss this next year."
"Yeah."
Viktor and Connor still have another year with the Titans. But for Jackson and I . . . this chapter's over. We might play together again someday but it won't be like this. Never this exact combination of people.
And in a few months, I'll be in Ottawa, fighting for an NHL roster spot. It should feel terrifying knowing I'll be hiding my limitations, pushing my body harder than ever.
But looking at Merci, my teammates who've become family, and my actual family in the stands, something settles in my chest.
Hockey has been my entire world, my only path forward. But for the first time, it doesn't feel like my only lifeline.
I have options. Support. People who see past the damage to who I am.
I look at Merci in the stands as we line up for the handshake line. He’s on his feet, cheering like a maniac, his hands cupped around his mouth as he screams something I can’t hear, face lit up with pure joy.
He's why I know I'll be okay, no matter what comes next.
And that's the greatest victory of all.
Chapter 31
Merci
"Holy shit." I freeze in the doorway of Zach's dorm room, my eyes locked on the new addition hanging from the ceiling.
A fucking sex swing.
"Seriously?" I cock a hip, barely able to contain the smirk tugging at my lips. “Is this how we’re continuing to celebrate your championship win?”
