Slippery Face-Off

THE GOALIE WHO NEVER STOPS PERFORMING
THE DEFENSEMAN WHO NEVER SHOWS EMOTION
WHEN RIVALS RECOGNIZE EACH OTHER FROM THE PAST, THE ICE ISN'T THE ONLY THING THAT MELTS

Kole Markov knows how to put on a show. As Northlake University's star goaltender, he's loud, charismatic, and never stops moving. If people are watching, he's giving them a performance. It's worked for him his whole life-until he locks eyes with the one person who's always seen through his act.

Andrew McKinney is the definition of contained. As captain of the rival Minnesota Iron Lakes, he's quiet, disciplined, and never loses control-on or off the ice. But when he recognizes Kole from a hockey camp six years ago, the walls he's built start to crack.

They were just teenagers when they first met, sharing late-night conversations that felt too real to acknowledge in the light of day. Neither has forgotten. Neither expected to face the other as rivals with championships on the line.

As tension builds between their teams, a different kind of heat ignites between them. One stolen encounter in an empty equipment room proves that whatever they started years ago didn't fade-it only intensified.

When the final buzzer sounds, they'll have to decide if what happens on the ice matters more than what's happening in the quiet moments between them-where neither has anywhere left to hide.