They said bench guys needed to conserve energy. Stay sharp. Be prepared.
Marcus wasbeyondprepared.
He wanted—no, needed—just one moment. One shift. One chance to prove he wasn’t just a roster filler. Was it really so wrong to want a taste of glory? A second where the crowd might chant his name instead of swallowing him whole? A forgotten poster boy? A shadow behind the trophy…
“Oh my gosh—are you freaking kidding me?”
Marcus snapped his head up.
Elliott Mendoza’s voice carried shock, not anger. Marcus braced himself for blood on the ice, a bad hit, a stupid move by Acton—which happened each and every game, let’s be honest…
But what he saw made his stomach drop.
The Wolverines mascot.
A giant padded player with an oversized Wolverine head and blue furry mitts. There was even an arched tail pinned to the tail of the jersey. He would know, because it was right there, sticking up into the air for the whole arena to see.
Sprawled.
On.
The ice.
Silence hit first. A low gasp of silence, before the stands exploded in awareness. Several people rose to their feet, and even the players on the ice stood up straight instead of leaning into the play.
Coach Starnes slapped a hand to his forehead in disbelief.
Savage mirrored the motion a heartbeat later with another audible pop of skin on skin.
The whistle shrieked.
“You gotta be kidding me…”
“I can’t believe this…”
“How stupid can you be…”
“No way are they gonna call that…”
Marcus’s shocked face looked at the referee as everyone began booing and screaming in dismay.No way,he thought, horrified as the Wolverine Mascot got up and began to skate toward the boards to get off the ice.
Coach Starnes exploded, screaming and hollering angrily as he waved his arm – and sure enough – the four referees were suddenly whispering together. Their striped bodies and heads were bent together, quietly conversing with mics off, before nodding.
“Illegal substitution…”
They made the call.
“WHAT?” Coach Starnes - and half the team - screamed at once in utter shock over the hushed crowd.
“Too many men on the ice…”
“THAT’S NOT EVEN A PLAYER,” Coach Starnes shouted in dismay. “THAT’S THE MASCOT!Somebody get that nitwit off the ice -NOW!”
“That’s the mascot!” one of the guys yelled.
“He doesn’t even play hockey…” someone else yelped in disbelief.
“Officials have decided – the play stops…”
