Page 99 of Rookie Rules

Rowan said, "Recovery at ten."

Luca turned toward the window.

"I know."

This time, he did not need to delete anything first.

Chapter 16: Penalty Trouble

For fifty-two minutes, Mateo Reyes played the exact game Northstar needed.

He kept the opponent's biggest forward outside the crease, moved the first pass before pressure arrived, and talked Eli through three defensive-zone changes without making the rookie sound corrected. When Eli pinched at the offensive blue line, Mateo slid across to cover before the puck could become a rush.

"I had it," Eli said when they returned to the bench.

"I know," Mateo answered. "Now we both had it."

Rowan heard the exchange and stored it. Mateo's best hockey looked like force made patient. He could close space without chasing contact and protect a partner without turning protection into spectacle.

Northstar scored first in the opening period. Luca carried wide, pulled the defense toward his shot, and returned the puck to Rowan beneath the circles. Rowan found Finn arriving at the far post.

1-0.

The opponent tied it in the second after a long shift trapped Northstar's fourth line. Gabriel stopped the first attempt. The rebound entered through traffic before Nolan could clear the crease.

1-1.

Early in the third, Mateo created the go-ahead play without receiving a point. He held the puck at the blue line under pressure, absorbed contact, and sent it behind the net before the lane closed. Jace recovered. Eli moved down the wall. Luca finished from the slot.

2-1.

At the celebration, Mateo struck Eli's helmet and shouted something Rowan could not hear. Eli looked annoyed and pleased in equal measure.

The Wolves protected the lead for six minutes. Gabriel controlled rebounds. Rowan won two defensive draws. Mateo separated a forward from the puck beside the bench with a shoulder delivered through the body, legal and final.

The crowd rose for the hit.

Mateo did not admire it. He found Eli with the outlet and changed.

That was the player Rowan trusted in the final eight minutes.

Then Eli took the late hit.

Rowan saw the penalty before the referee raised his arm.

Eli took the hit beside Northstar's bench, shoulder driven into the boards a fraction after the puck had left. Legal enough to survive one angle. Late enough to demand attention.

Mateo arrived from the blue line with six strides of anger.

He shoved the hitter once. The opponent shoved back. Mateo's second glove caught the man's face.

The official's arm rose.

"Reyes," Rowan said.

Mateo stopped before the exchange became a fight. The restraint came one decision too late.

The Wolves led 2-1 with eight minutes left in the third.