Chapter 3As I trotted onto the ice after a stoppage in play in the next game, I shot a glance to my right. I’d put Val on my own line, in Debbie’s spot, so I could assess her play. She’d performed well at practice, but I knew from experience that practice skill didn’t always translate into game-day performance. Fortunately, our opponents, the Baytown Blizzard, weren’t one of the top-flight teams.
“Nervous?” I asked her.
I could see a white-toothed grin through the wires of her face mask. “A little, maybe.”
“You’ll do fine.”
I swore under my breath as the opposing centre won the face-off, tapping the ball back to her left defense. But before the other woman could make a move, Val was upon her. Val stole the ball and darted to her right.
A second late in reacting, I raced down the centr
