Page 100 of Rookie Rules

Mateo skated toward the penalty box while the home crowd shouted approval that would not kill the penalty for them.

"Two minutes for roughing," the referee announced.

At the bench, Eli rolled his shoulder and told Owen he was fine.

"Did you see the hit?" Mateo called from inside the box.

Rowan leaned over the boards. "Sit down."

Mateo spread both hands as if the penalty had been a misunderstanding rather than a sequence everyone had watched.

Vale called the penalty killers. Rowan went over with Finn, Nolan, and Jace. The faceoff came to Gabriel's right. Rowan won it back. Nolan cleared.

Thirty seconds gone.

The opponent entered on the next rush with control. Their high forward held the blue line while two players crossed below the circles. Rowan tracked the middle. Finn pressured the wall. A pass reached the point, moved left, then returned through the seam before Northstar's box could reset.

Gabriel pushed across.

The shot entered above his pad.

2-2.

Mateo remained in the box while the horn sounded. His head tipped back once against the glass.

The crowd that had cheered the retaliation went quiet.

On the bench, Rowan felt the game change shape. The Wolves had been protecting a lead. Now they were chasing momentum they had volunteered.

Before leaving the box, Mateo looked toward Northstar's bench. Rowan pointed to the ice, then held two fingers against his own chest: stay inside.

Mateo nodded.

The message was tactical and personal. Do not chase another correction. Do not make guilt produce a second penalty.

Mateo returned to the ice after the goal and took his next shift without incident. He finished a check cleanly, kept position, and moved the puck before pressure arrived. Correct decisions could not refund the one already charged.

With ninety seconds left, Northstar lost an offensive-zone draw. The opponent moved through neutral ice, chipped behind Nolan, and recovered below the goal line. Rowan came low to help. The puck moved high before the coverage followed.

A point shot struck traffic and dropped into the slot.

The opposing center reached it first.

3-2.

Gabriel remained down after the save attempt. Rowan circled behind the net, collected the puck, and saw Mateo staring at the scoreboard from the far side.

The penalty had not scored the winning goal. Hockey rarely offered consequences that clean. It had surrendered the lead, shifted the bench, and forced Northstar to play the final minutes from urgency instead of structure.

That was enough.

Vale pulled Gabriel with fifty-eight seconds left. Luca entered as the extra attacker. The Wolves established the zone twice. Finn missed wide. Luca's shot struck a shin pad. Rowan won one final puck behind the net and tried to find the slot before three sticks closed.

The horn ended the game at 3-2.

Northstar's record returned to even.

Mateo left the ice last among the defensemen.