Excerpt Day: Slapshot by Dianne Fox

[reviews_and_ramblings]

Slapshot by Dianne Fox
Release Date: 04/2009
Publisher: Torquere Books
Publisher Link: http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1959

Blurb: Jay isn't sure about the new kid on his hockey team. He and Mattie start off with a fist-fight, in fact, neither of them willing to give an inch. When it comes time for them to start rooming, together, though, Jay has some advice for the lonely new star of the ice. Can Mattie give up feeling like an outsider find what he needs with Jay?

Excerpt:

Barbie tapped the ice to get the puck, but Crake ignored the signal, shooting on his own instead. Jay dove for it, slamming down onto the ice on one knee and falling onto his side to come up with the puck.

“Not fast enough.” As he pushed himself to his feet again, Jay’s knees protested the hit even through the pads. Damn it. He’d have to ice them tonight. And probably every night for the rest of the season. He bounced the puck in his glove before tossing it back to Crake. “You can’t do it all by yourself, kid. Try passing once in a while.”

“Yeah?” Crake sneered, snatching the puck out of the air as his cheeks flushed red behind his facemask. “I’m supposed to listen to you? Some washed-up old goalie who couldn’t hack it in the big leagues so they sent him back to the minors?”

“You little shit.” Jay’s gloves and stick hit the ice with a clatter and he dove at Crake. Surprise was on Jay’s side; the kid went down hard, his helmet crashing against the ice and sliding off his head. It skittered across the ice, spinning, until it came to a stop near the penalty boxes.

Jay got in one good hit, knuckles smashing against soft cartilage, sending blood spraying from Crake’s nose and mouth, before Remi and Nick dragged him off. Jay struggled against their grip, his skates scrabbling on the ice. That little shit.