Chapter 1

The Belleville Falcons are participating in a charity hockey game to benefit the children’s ward at Belleville and Trenton Hospitals. The team was split into two squads, with the first and fourth lines playing against the second and third lines. The goalies, Jason Bennett and Sam Philips would play against each other. Their home and away sweaters would differentiate the teams, and ten non-players made up the remaining line for each team.

What would make this game most interesting is that the extra players were all from the local women’s hockey recreational league. Carl Benson would coach one team, while Jake Campbell would coach the other. Jake wanted to play in the fun charity game, but Coach Stanton said Jake should rest more from his concussion so he’d be ready to play again once the playoffs began.

The rules were simple: basic hockey with nobody checking or taking slapshots and everyone having fun. Any penalties would result in the victim having a shootout against the goalie.

The usually full arena had approximately 2,000 people in attendance. Brad stood side by side with his linemates on the blue line as the national anthem was sung. He smiled at the beautiful-looking teen with long brunette hair tied in a tight ponytail standing on the opposite blue line. It was his love, Abby. Her bulky hockey uniform hid the body he knew so well. She smiled at him, proudly wearing his hockey sweater.

When Abby first learned of the charity game, she was able to make her way onto a team through a young woman, Jennifer Burton, who worked part-time at the same restaurant as her. Jennifer loved playing hockey and was very active in her local league. After the anthem was completed, Jennifer swept her long blonde hair off her shoulders.

The players donned their helmets and were positioned at center ice for the start of the game. Brad switched to the left wing so he could enjoy the fun of playing against Abby.

“Better keep your head up, my lover boy, or you’ll certainly regret playing against me!” Abby teased him, jostling him for position.

“Finally, someone on the other team is beautiful enough to kiss!” Brad joked, pressing his hip against hers.

“Bet you say that to all the boys!” She smiled as the referee dropped the puck.

Brad let Abby beat him to the loose puck against the boards, and she immediately shot it into the end zone. He was more concerned about following his love and teasing her than the game itself.

Abby gave chase for the puck, struggling against defenseman Hans Mueller for its possession. He passed the puck along to P.K. Subban, who waited for Abby. She gave him quite a bump that he barely felt. Abby was more serious about the game and, gaining control of the puck, skated through the right face-off circle. She passed the puck to Jennifer, who was positioned in front of the net. She let a quick wrister go that beat Jason over his right shoulder. Centerman Joel Cross joined the girls to celebrate their first goal.

“Good pass, Abby,” Brad complimented, skating toward her.

“Jennifer and I will beat the pants off of you!” She teased. “And don’t patronize me just because I’m a girl. Play like you’re supposed to and fight me for the puck.”

The fans, Haywards, and Kendall families stood and applauded the goal. One of the rare times Dan’s girls wore blue jeans, they made up for their appearance by wearing low-cut tops.

“This is the first time I’ve seen Abby play hockey,” Dan mentioned to Scott.

“Peter and Derek always had Abby play as a goalie as soon as she could stand up and skate. She played several years ago and could have become a good player, but having three kids in hockey was too expensive for us. She soon lost interest in playing shortly after her mom died.”

Play resumed with playful banter amongst the Falcons players trying to outdo each other with trick passes and shots becoming part of the game. The players made sure that the girls on the ice were the main point of interest, setting them up to showcase their talents.