Face-Off (7 page)

Skinny tried to steal the puck away from Slim’s right side, Del tried to poke-check it from his left. Both Bears were good
hockey players, but Slim was better. He was fast, graceful, confident.

And then Scott, covering his zone close to the front and right side of the rink, saw it coming. Slim’s stick was rising. He
was going to shoot.

Just as his stick hit the puck Scott sprinted
in front of the goal, directly in line of it’s path.

Fear gripped him as he saw it coming at him. But he didn’t panic. He didn’t shut his eyes. He didn’t duck.

Instead, he lifted his hand, stopped the puck, dropped it, then sent it spinning across the ice toward Del. Hockey sticks
thundered against the sideboards on the Golden Bears’ side.

“Beautiful stop, Scott!”

Scott skated up the ice after the puck. There was a scramble for it, then several shots for the goal. None went in. Moments
later the buzzer sounded, and the lines left the ice, replaced by Lines Three.

There was little said on the bench as Lines Three battled for three minutes without scoring. The game ended in the Bullets’
favor, 6 to 5.

“No disgrace to lose,” said Coach Roberts
in the locker room. “You all played an excellent game. Forget this one. There’s a new game next week.”

“Think you’re over being puck shy?” Skinny asked Scott.

“I got a little scared that last time,” admitted Scott.

Del looked at him, smiled. “It takes a lot of guts to admit that,” he said.

Scott shrugged and put on his shoes. He swung his skates over his shoulder, stood up, and started for the door.

A shout from Del exploded behind him. “Hey, wait for us! We’re the Three Iceka-teers! Remember?”

He smiled as Del and Skinny came up beside him, and together they walked out of the building.

Baseball Flyhawk	Dirt Bike Runaway
Baseball Pals	Dive Right In
Baseball Turnaround	Double Play at Short
The Basket Counts	Face-Off
Body Check	Fairway Phenom
Catch That Pass!	Football Fugitive
Catcher with a Glass Arm	Football Nightmare
Catching Waves	The Fox Steals Home