* * *
Game day came and Jacob was ready to take the first step toward helping the Enforcers to the title in his first season at the franchise.
“Tane, we’ve got this, I just know we have,” Jacob said as the pair of them waited for the signal to head out onto the ice.
“That’s the spirit, Jacob,” Tane roared, turning back and raising his hockey stick to the rest of the team. “Enforcers!”
Jacob and the whole squad bellowedEnforcersat the tops of their voices before heading out onto the ice for a rapturous reception from their home fans.
After a quick start, Jacob scored one goal and assisted Alex Rebrov for another.
Things were looking seriously good for the team – but Jacob could see that Tane just wasn’t quite himself out there.
“Everything okay?” Jacob said during a brief pause in play.
“I’m fine,” Tane replied, tension in his voice. “Just focus on your game. The Titans are going to come back at us hard in the final third. We need you on point and ready to strike. Okay?”
“Got it,” Jacob replied, seeing that Tane’s role on the ice might have been lessened this time, but he was still a hugely important player from a leadership point of view.
After Tane’s words of encouragement, the game ebbed and flowed all the way through to the final couple of minutes. The Enforcers were still in the lead, but it was uncomfortably close going into the closing moments. The Titans had a reputation as a team who never gave up, and many of their wins that season had come from losing positions going into the final seconds.
“Keep fucking going,” Tane said, grimacing as he awkwardly passed the puck on toward Alex. “Don’t stop. Work. Everyone. Let’s bring this home.”
Jacob darted from left into the center and took the pass from Alex before homing in on the Titans” goalie.
This was a huge moment.
A goal now would seal the victory and see the Enforcers into the next stage of the playoffs.
Jacob knew what was at stake, but rather than let himself get into his thoughts he simply trusted that all his hard work in practice would pay off.
This is my time.
No one’s stopping me.
Relax and….
The crowd went wild as Jacob calmly slotted home what would be the winning goal. Jacob was filled with sheer joy. It had been a goal crafted by the team and Jacob had applied the finishing touch to it.
“Hell to the motherfucking yeah!” Connor bellowed, slapping Jacob on the back as he skated back into position to see out the remaining couple of seconds of the game.
“Sweet pass, Alex,” Jacob said, pointing his stick in Alex’s direction.
“And an even sweeter finish,” Alex replied, nodding his head in admiration.
Jacob then turned and saw Tane skating back into a deep position. Tane looked happy, but Jacob could see that there was something not quite right. Tane hadn’t played poorly. Far from it. But there was something not quite right, and Jacob wanted to know exactly what that was.
But now wasn’t the time.
The Enforcers needed to see out the formality of the last few seconds and then enjoy the moment in front of their home fans. Jacob was edging nearer to the finals in his first season – and having scored the goal that secured the win, he couldn’t have scripted it better himself.
Chapter 20
Jacob
“Hmmm,” Jacob half-yawned. “It’s… go time.”
The morning of the first playoff game dawned cold and gray over the unfamiliar city. Jacob woke in the sterile comfort of a high-floor hotel room, the kind with heavy blackout curtains and a view of nothing but concrete and distant highway lights.
