We gather at the bench while the referees clear the ice.
The arena hums with that weird quiet that happens right before a shootout - half excitement, half nerves. Everyone leaning forward in their seats, waiting.
Coach Calloway steps in front of us.
“Alright,” he says quickly. “Same as always. Take your shot. Don’t overthink it. Chen has got the rest.”
A few sticks tap the boards.
He points down the line.
“Russo first. Blake second.”
I nod.
Then the whistle blows and suddenly the whole thing starts moving fast.
Russo skates out first. The arena falls almost completely silent except for the scrape of his blades.
He tries to deke left.
Saved.
But then Chen saves their first shot.
“Your turn,” Mercer mutters beside me.
I push off the boards.
The ice feels strangely long when you’re skating alone toward a goalie with scouts in the stands.
I pick up the puck at center and skate in steady, keeping my pace slow enough to read the goalie.
He bites slightly when I shift the puck to my backhand.
That’s all I need.
Quick pull across the crease. Forehand. The puck snaps into the net.
The crowd explodes.
I barely hear it as I skate past the goal and circle back toward the bench.
Mercer bangs my helmet as I pass.
“Atta boy.”
Soon it’s Shaw’s turn. Leonora.
She skates out without hesitation, helmet low. But I know something the rest of the arena doesn’t.
This might be her first shootout in front of a real crowd.
She picks up the puck at center ice and starts forward. It looks good…
Then the goalie reads the move early and drops his pad.
Save.
