Captain, My Captain: NHL Scorpions

By Nikki Worrell

Keith Lambert is the captain of the Flyers—until he’s not. To everyone’s shock, he’s traded to the San Diego Scorpions. As if that’s not bad enough, Phoebe, his girlfriend of two years, decides she doesn’t love him enough to follow.

All alone in a new town, Keith is drawn to Kelly, his take out delivery girl. When she shows up at ice girl tryouts, he’s lost. She’s all he can see. Can he convince her to forget her past and take a chance on him or is he destined to be alone in a new town a little bit longer?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Nikki Worrell
• Release date: May 6, 2015
• ISBN: 9781519913548

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Captain, My Captain

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By

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Nikki Worrell

Copyright

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events of locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2014 by Nikki Worrell

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.

Also by Nikki Worrell

Stories For Amanda – October 2013

The Enforcer (NHL Scorpions Book #1) – May 2013

Goalie Interference (NHL Scorpions Book #2)-Nov 2013

What Mother Doesn’t Know (Novella) – April 2014

Table of Contents

Glossary of Hockey Terms

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Epilogue

Acknowledgments

Connect with Nikki

Glossary of Hockey Terms

Five-hole: The area right between the goalie’s legs.

Backchecking: Checking in the defensive zone when the opposing team is attacking.

Boarding: Checking a defenseless player against the boards, usually causing their face/head to hit the boards first.

Checking: Using the hip or body to knock an opponent against the boards or to the ice.

Deke: When a player handles the puck in a way that makes the opponent move out of position, allowing that player to get past.

Face-off: The method used to begin play. One player from each team fights for the puck as the official drops it to the ice between them.

Forechecking: Checking in the offensive zone in order to get the puck.

Gordie Howe Hat-Trick: Getting a goal, an assist, and having a fight all in one game.

Hat-Trick: Three goals in one game. Fans traditionally throw their hats on the ice.

Major Penalty: Five-minute penalty.

Minor Penalty: Two-minute penalty.

Offside: When a player crosses the blue line in the offensive zone before the puck.

Poke Check: Poking the puck away with the stick.

Power Play: Results in the one team losing a player for two minutes or more, giving the other team an advantage to score.

Slew Foot: Sweeping or kicking out a player’s skate causing them to fall backwards. Usually results in a match penalty (removed from the game and assessed a five-minute penalty for statistical purposes).

Trapezoid (Trap): Area behind the goalie’s net (behind goal line) where the goalie can play the puck. This is the only area behind the goal line that the goalie can play the puck without receiving a penalty.

War Room: Office in Toronto where video is sent to review a questionable goal.

Prologue

The noise from the crowd was deafening. Keith Lambert, the twenty-two-year-old captain of the Flyers, loved it. Every decibel. However, he could tell by the way Sammy Read was fidgeting with his helmet that the constant chants of Saaaaaamy, Saaaaaamy were seriously screwing with the goalie’s focus. The louder the crowd grew, the more agitated Sammy got, which could only be good for Philadelphia—Sammy was Vancouver’s goalie.

They were playing their final game of the season—the most important game they’d play. The Flyers and Canucks were competing for the hardest trophy to win in any sport—the Stanley Cup.

There are eighty-two games in the regular season alone. If you place high enough to even make the playoffs, you then face four seven-game series. If you win each series, and go all the way to the end, you’ve won sixteen playoff games. 

Hockey also has a grueling schedule, sometimes traveling coast-to-coast from one day to the next. Aside from the intense travel, the daily physical strains put on hockey players are far more than any one person would choose to endure. Their adrenaline spikes up to maximum levels for sixty minutes of play. They’re in full sprint each time their skates hit the ice. No other sport demands quite so much of its players.

They were down to the last fourteen minutes of the seventh game in the last series. Winner takes all. Come on, guys. Keep up the energy! We’ve got this. Keith spared a second to scan the crowd. The splashes of blue on the fans wearing the visiting team’s jerseys stuck out in the sea of orange Philly’s fans wore. We can’t blow this. Let’s do it! G, take the face-off.

Jake Gourneau’s head snapped up at Keith’s words. Huh? You want me to take it? Keith always took the face-offs.

Yeah, man. You’re better against Drake. I don’t have anything to prove. I just want that Cup. Keith slapped him on the butt with his stick and took the winger’s position as G bent low to take the face-off.

Gourneau won the draw, but it wasn’t enough. It took a bad bounce off Keith’s stick and went directly to Vancouver’s winger who immediately tried to slap it high into the net, but Ward saw it all the way and snagged it out of the air with his glove hand, mere inches before it crossed the goal line.

Fuck, that was close, G. Take it again. Being so close to their own goalie for the face-off was intimidating so late in the game with a tie score. It could be game changing if they lost the faceoff. We need to clear the zone!

Beads of sweat glistened on G’s forehead as he got into position again. One drop, then two hit the ice. The crowd was loud as the referee held the puck about two feet up, between Drake and Gourneau, waiting until he was good and ready to drop it. And still they waited. Drake got antsy and stepped back to get a better grip on his stick and the ref straightened up. Get in position Drake or I’ll let someone else take this faceoff.

With the threat of losing his spot on the circle looming, Drake skated back up to the ref and got into position. Seconds ticked by and still the ref didn’t drop the puck.

Drop the puck! The crowd started yelling. Ref, drop the puck!

The puck hit the ice and bounced back up. G got a piece of it and it flew back to Keith, but