Beside him, Vince nodded. "You've led us for years, captain. You can count on us now."
Rod still looked unconvinced, but then he sighed. "I'll keep the puck out of the net. The rest of you better keep my stubborn brother in one piece and get a win for him."
"I wanted this win for all of us, not just me."
Rod met his gaze again, and the light of battle glinted there. "Then let's do it. Together."
As a unit, they walked down the hall.
The crowd's roar was deafening as the team skated onto the ice. Energy poured through the arena. The pressure in his chest tripled. So many people were counting on them. They'd come so far, they couldn't fail now.
When the puck dropped, he focused on the game, the next play, and then the next. Adrenaline spiked and remained so high, the pain in his head faded from awareness.
Hard-fought and heavy hitting, the game flew by. Leo and Celek checked hard, banging bodies away from him. The team rallied around them. No stupid penalties, no big mistakes, but the puck couldn't find its way into the net.
The third period ticked down to its final minutes and both teams were still scoreless.
"Last minute of play in the third period." The PA announcer's voice, normally calm, was tinged with excitement.
From his place on the bench, Dylan cursed, drawing a tap from Leo. Their line had received the most ice time. His headache had revived, and his limbs felt like rubber. He didn't want to sit through another intermission and then overtime.
Coach LeClair sent his line back on the ice. They kept up pressure in Edmonton's zone, getting two shots on goal. Their goalie deflected the first one right onto Celek's stick. He fired the puck but the shot went wide. Nylander, the Edmonton defensemen who'd cross-checked Dylan in game one, knocked the puck toward the boards, but it careened off and headed to Dylan at center ice. He let his slapshot fly, his heart in his throat, a lifetime of dreams soaring with it. The puck sailed over the goalie's shoulder and hit the back of the net.
Dylan's mouth dropped open. He blinked.
The puck was definitely in the net. The goal light and horn went off. The arena shook with the cheers from the fans.
Leo grabbed him in a hug. "You fucking beat him. Finally." He shifted his body so that he took the brunt of the weight as their teammates on the ice crowded around them.
He quickly skated to the bench and high-fived his teammates. Coach told his line to stay on the ice.
Fifteen seconds remained in the game. Edmonton pulled their goalie and put on an extra forward. Desperation and determination fueled Dylan's every move as he skated and checked and blocked with everything he had. They just had to hang on...
The seconds counted down. Whistles and cheers came from the crowd. They were already on their feet. He couldn't let them down. He threw his full weight into his next check. He stopped the player but not the puck.
It headed toward Rod, with an Edmonton winger and Leo battling to reach it. Rod would handle it. He had to. Rod skated forward and sent the puck to Vince. The defenseman zoomed down the ice and shot the puck at Edmonton's empty net as the time clock ticked down to zero.
The horn sounded, announcing the end of the game just as the puck crossed the goal line.
The crowd erupted in cheers. He'd never heard them that loud. Confetti and streamers rained down from the rafters.
Breathing hard, Dylan tossed his stick aside and rushed to join his celebrating teammates. The bench players spilled onto the ice, throwing themselves into the throng of blue jerseys.
Dylan found Rod in the chaos. His brother's smile was as wide as his own. Rod pulled him into a hug. "Man, we did it."
"Together." Dylan rested their helmets together for a moment. This was special. They'd talked about it countless times as kids—playing on the same team as their dad and winning a Cup together. He searched the crowd until he saw his parents. Tears streamed down his dad's face and his mom looked so proud. He owed them so much for all they'd done over the years. He caught Kelsey waving at him from the tunnel. Having her as a part of the team, as a part of the experience, was more than he could ask.
He saw the coaches and the trainers and equipment staff. Dylan found himself searching for Blair among the sea of bodies on the ice even though he knew she wasn't there.
She should have been.
He pulled back and got the guys to line up to shake hands with the Edmonton players. As they finished, a team associate handed them baseball caps emblazoned with the Bedlam logo and the words Cup Champions. He tugged on his hat, saw the rest of the guys doing the same, and smiled again.
They truly had a special group. Vince and Celek, Kreider, Slater, Leo, and of course Rod. All the rest of the guys too. Forever bonded by the experience they'd shared.
A fresh round of cheering rang out when the three-foot-high silver trophy was wheeled onto the ice. The crowd quieted as the league commissioner made a speech about the series and how hard both teams had worked.
Then the commissioner called him forward. Dylan's heart pounded as he skated to the table. He wiped sweaty palms on his jersey and finally, finally, picked up the Cup.
The trophy was engraved with the names of every player who'd ever won the championship. He turned it until he saw his dad's name, then Blair's dad's name, and then Rod's name from when he won it the previous year with his old team. Before the summer's end, his name would be added too.
Dylan lifted it high above his head and skated one lap around the ice.
The moment he'd been dreaming of and working to
