Callahan was already on it, whiteboard in hand as he mapped out their next play, showing Niko and August exactly what he wanted from them next shift.
Haas stopped a shot and then made another save on an awkward rebound that should have gone in, but the kid was flexible and had fast reflexes.
The Vancouver crowd were on their feet as Logan took control of the puck behind their net, giving time for a line change.
“Damn,” said Callahan. “Remind me to buy Sauce a beer later—or a chocolate milk on the rocks.”
Niko cackled and went to take the puck, and then it was back to business.
Washington pushed back hard as they entered the neutral zone, trying to muscle control away from them when they caught a shit pass from their veteran defenceman, Stan Milton.
August checked the Washington player into the boards and smacked it toward Callahan, who scooped it up and passed it to Niko to carry into the Washington zone.
August slipped between two defenders along the boards, shoulders rattling as one tried to pin him, but he was too tall for the guy to do any damage. August rolled off the hit, kept his feet, and forced the defence out of the way so he could accept the next pass.
“Fuck you, Snow!”
August didn’t know who shouted it. A series of sharp slaps against the ice told him where he needed to send the puck, and August fired it.
Their defenceman, Simon Skarsgård, caught the pass and sent a rocket of a shot top shelf from the blueline, and the fans were on their feet again. The goal horn blasted through the arena for the second time in five minutes, and the Washington goalie cursed and snapped his stick on the post.
Two to zero, and the crowd was going wild.
At this point, Dax was acting as a sleeper agent for them because the Eagles were falling apart, and they were lacking chemistry and coordination. It wasn’t hard to see that they were rattled about something more than a two-point lead, but that meant they would be easy to unravel.
August went to the bench for a drink during the commercial break, joining the team huddle as Coach went over their next play. He shamelessly made eye contact with Quinn, winking just to see him blush, and smiled when Logan’s wife started hugging Quinn and shaking him.
They were cute, and August was already thinking of places to go for double dates when Coach snapped at him.
“Snow. Pull head out of your ass. Are you listening?”
“Yes, Coach.”
Fedorov narrowed his eyes but went back to the whiteboard, loudly barking orders at Logan.
“Is this going to be my life now?” Niko asked as they went to the bench to wait for their shift. “You and Quinn staring longingly at each other through the glass, and the sound of smacking echoing through the house all night?”
“Fuck’s sake,” Callahan groaned, having overheard Niko’s bitching. “Can wenottalk about sex with Quinn in any capacity, please? That’s my brother-in-law.”
Logan, who hadn’t heard the conversation, shoved a stick of smelling salts under Callahan’s nose before he could refuse. Callahan jerked back like he had been punched and doubled over, gagging and spitting, but he thankfully didn’t puke.
August was trying to rub his back, but he was laughing too hard because he kept locking eyes with Niko’s teary green ones, which sent them both into another fit of laughter.
“Sorry, Cap.” Logan knocked his gloves on Callahan’s helmet. “I didn’t mean to hold it so close—”
“I’m fine,” said Callahan, lifting his head to shake it off. “The whistle is about to blow. Get the fuck away from me.”
Haas joined in on the laughter before returning to the net, while Niko and August stared at center ice, both trying to hold a straight face.
“Well, I’m awake now,” said Callahan. “Along with all my past lives. Goddamn.”
The cheery mood took a turn at the next face-off. August didn’t like the way the Washington players were so amped up, and they werebeginning to look less like a hockey team and more like a gang of thugs as the game went on.
It didn’t matter how many hits they landed on the Vancouver team because their plays never improved. Watching one of the better teams in the league self-implode was fascinating, and August felt a little bad for them, but they were doing themselves no favours by keeping Dax benched.
In the final five minutes of the period, one of the Eagles’ defencemen took a high-sticking penalty that turned into a double minor because Logan ended up with a bloody lip.
August stayed on the ice with him and Niko, which led to their third goal of the night to finish off the period. Logan got tackled, cursing loudly when August got too enthusiastic and nearly put him on his ass.
