Page 66 of Rookie Rules

Nothing in Rowan's face referred to his kitchen, two plates, or four rules that had sounded worse every time Luca repeated them. He wore the captain's expression: composed, available to everyone, owned by no one.

Game responsibilities.

Luca moved the puck to Finn and kept skating.

The dressing room quieted in stages after warmups. Equipment staff collected loose tape. Music dropped low. Vale stood at the center of the room with one hand on the back of a chair and did not make a speech about history.

"They will be excited for five minutes," he said. "So will you. Do not confuse excitement with pace. Support the puck. Make the next read."

His gaze moved around the room and stopped briefly on Luca.

"We do not need the season in the first shift."

A few players smiled.

Luca rolled his shoulders beneath his pads. He wanted the season in the first shift. He wanted the first shot, the first goal, the image clipped and posted before he reached the bench.

Rowan stood and pulled on his gloves.

"First five simple," he said to the line.

Luca looked up. "Simple is my brand."

"It is not."

Finn rose between them. "I'm so glad we're communicating again."

Neither answered.

The opening ceremony turned players into silhouettes behind a sheet of blue light. One by one they stepped onto the ice as their names were called. Nolan received the deep, familiar roar reserved for a player who had absorbed years for the city. Gabriel lifted his mask when he reached the crease. Rowan emerged last among the skaters, captain's C bright beneath the spotlight.

Luca watched him take one turn near center.

The crowd trusted Rowan in a way it did not yet know how to trust Luca. Rowan had earned affection through years of making the reliable choice under pressure. Luca had arrived with a campaign and a number meant to sell jerseys.

He wanted to earn the sound that had greeted him.

Then the lights came up and the puck dropped.

The first five minutes were not simple.

Northstar lost the opening draw, recovered the dump, and gave the puck away on the exit. Gabriel made the first save through a screen and froze it. On the next shift, Mateo separated a forward from the puck along the boards with enough force to bring the crowd to its feet and the opposing winger to his.

The retaliation came two seconds late.

Mateo's glove caught the winger high after the whistle. The referee's arm went up.

"Two minutes," Rowan said as Mateo passed the bench door.

"He sold it."

"Sit down."

Northstar's penalty killers survived the first setup. Nolan blocked a point shot. Rowan won a faceoff and cleared the puck. The second unit did not get the same exit. A shot came through traffic, changed direction off a skate, and beat Gabriel low.

The scoreboard turned to 0-1.

The arena's excitement did not disappear. It tightened.