“I think so,” Kirby said. “Yeah, sure. I’m ready.”
“Good man,” Marty said. “Here’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to do a line change on the fly. Next time we get possession in our zone, Nick, you get the puck to me and then head to the bench. When he gets within ten feet, Kirby, you hop out onto the rink, and I’ll feed you the puck for a clean breakaway.”
“Got it,” Kirby said.
“Got it,” Nick echoed.
“Good. Let’s do it,” Marty said as they headed back out.
Playing decoy, Trevor lost the puck on purpose. As planned, the Bad Boys got excited at their sudden scoring chance, sending one of their defenders into the forward zone. Nick managed to steal the puck from him when Killer made a drop pass. Then Nick fed Marty and headed for the sideline. Nobody followed him. The Bad Boys were all concentrating on Marty.
“Go for it!” Nick whispered as Kirby jumped onto the rink surface. At that precise moment, Marty fed him the puck — a long, perfect pass. Kirby grabbed it.
Only one defender stood between him and the goal. Instead of trying to fake him out — that was how Kirby had kept losing the puck in the first half — he tried simply outracing him. Kirby went around the player’s right side. Sure enough, the big, lumbering defenseman could not keep up.
Kirby could hear the Bad Boys yelling, and it made him glad. He focused like a laser on the spot he wanted to shoot for, then let the puck fly.
Bull’s-eye! Score! Tie game!
The next thing Kirby knew, he was being mobbed by his teammates. They had done it! They had tied the game. But, as Marty soon reminded them, they had one more goal to score.
Now both teams were playing recklessly, trying to score that one final goal that would be the nail in the other team’s coffin. Kirby barely saw the puck as each team’s scoring stars tried to win the game all by themselves.
Seeing the Bad Boys all rushing the Skates’ zone, Kirby went back to help out on defense. Killer, almost all the way back at the blue line, let a shot fly. Lainie just managed to make the save, and the puck rolled out again — past Marty, past Nick, past the Bad Boys — all the way to Kirby.
Feeling his heart leap into his throat, Kirby took off the other way. Nobody was back on defense!
Now, Killer came from the other side of the rink, trying to cut Kirby off before he could get a shot away. Just as he got there, Kirby fed the puck a little ahead of himself, then did a full 360-degree spin.
This move surprised Killer so much so that he tripped over his own skates and fell to the ground at Kirby’s feet! Kirby leapt over his prone body, grabbed the puck, and with a big smile, let loose a stinging shot.
The goalie tried in vain to get a glove on it, but the puck was speeding too fast. The puck hit the back of the net — score! Seconds later, the ref blew his whistle three times. Time was up. The big game was over!
The Skates mobbed Kirby yet again and carried him off the rink on their shoulders, chanting his name: “Kir-by! Kir-by! Kir-by!”
His parents came up and hugged him, too. “I’m so proud of you, son!” his dad said.
“Is your head okay?” his mom wanted to know. But even she was smiling, though her eyes were concerned.
Looking across to the other side of the rink, Kirby could see the Bad Boys shoving each other angrily, blaming each other for the defeat. Kirby shook his head. He hoped they would learn one day that friendship was more important than winning or losing.
Still, it sure felt great to win. And on top of it, he was the hero of the game! And it had happened exactly the way he’d daydreamed it!
He didn’t care what Killer thought of him. It was what Lainie and Marty and his other friends thought that counted. And especially what he himself thought.
Chris Cosmillo came up to Kirby and the others, the rest of his team behind him. “Ready for our game?” he asked.
“Are you sure you want to play?” Kirby asked. “I mean, even with the ref, things got awfully rough out there.”
“Yeah, that’s true,” Chris acknowledged. “But you’re forgetting one thing — we don’t have to play the Bad Boys, because you guys beat them!”
“Good point!” Kirby crowed. “We did it! We finally beat the Bad Boys!”
The second game was action-packed, just like the first — except that it was a lot more fun. Chris and his teammates were good players, but they weren’t any rougher than the E Street Skates. It was a contest of skating speed and hockey skills instead.
The crowd was eating it up — literally. By halftime, all the lemonade and cookies were gone! That meant they’d have enough money to pay Clayton Brown not only for next week but for the rest of the summer, too.
By the second half, the day had grown swelteringly hot as the afternoon sun broiled down on the asphalt of the rink. The Skates, playing their second game in a row, began showing the effects of all the energy they’d expended. Suddenly the Rocky Raccoons were outracing them to the puck and outskating them down the rink.
The final score was 5-3, Rocky Raccoons, much to the dismay of the hometown crowd. But as the teams were shaking hands, Chris said, “Don’t worry, we know you guys were tired out from the first game. So how about we come back next week and give you a rematch?”
“Thanks,” Marty said gratefully. “You guys played great. But we’re going to beat you next week.”
“What about the Bad Boys?” Chris asked.
“They’ll just have to sit on the sidelines and wait to play the winners,” Marty answered with a grin.
Someone’s parents had run to the store and come back with sports drinks for all the hot, sweaty players. They skated over to the snack table and thirstily gulped them down.
“You know,” Chris said to Marty and Kirby, “we’ve got a team we play with over in Bakersville, called the Hot Rods. They’re pretty good. Do you think we could invite them over here next week? Your rink here is way better than ours, and that way we could have a real tournament — the two winners play each other. What do you think?”
“That’s a fantastic idea!” Kirby said.
“Outstanding!” Marty agreed. “Bring them on — we’ll play anybody, as long as they play fair and square.”
“We’re tired of playing the Bad Boys anyway,” Trevor said, skating up to them. “With a referee, they can’t beat us. No way.”
Marty threw an arm around his shoulders. “Quit bragging, you fool,” he told his buddy. “You know it’s not true. And it wouldn’t be any fun playing them if it was.”
Just then, Kirby’s parents called out for attention. “Everybody back to our house for ice cream!” they yelled, and the ten or so people left at the rink all cheered.
The following week’s tournament was a smash, with the Skates winning it all by beating both the Rocky Raccoons and the Hot Rods (who had whipped the Bad Boys, 6 - 0!).
The success of the event gave Kirby an idea, and he broached it to his teammates afterward. “Why not try to start a real league?” he said. “Summer is almost over, and the rest of the kids in town will be coming back from camp soon. Why don’t we get a league going for the fall? That way, we can keep on playing new teams until it starts snowing, and then start right up again in the spring.”
“Great idea!” Lainie said, grinning from ear to ear. “Just so long as you make it coed all the way. Every team has to have at least two girls on it.”
“What?!” Trevor cried out. But the others overruled him.
“We’re not playing without Lainie,” Marty pointed out. “And she’s not playing if the league isn’t coed.”
“Urn, just one thing,” Nick piped up. “Who’s going to tell Killer and Spike that they have to add girls or they’re not in?”
Lainie laughed out loud. “Leave that to me!” she said.
No sooner said than done. The E Street Skates went right to work, using all the skills they’d learned during their petition and fund-raising drives.
By the time school started a m
onth later, the new league was in full swing. There were two new members of the E Street Skates, since every team now had eight players (at least two of them girls). There were six teams in the league, and new ones lining up to join after the winter.
School was back in session, but Saturdays were now hockey days. The one ref had been increased to a ref and two linesmen. There were aluminum risers, donated by the town, which could seat up to one hundred spectators. (These had been a pet project of the mayor, who was now running for reelection.)
As for Kirby, he didn’t think about Minford much anymore. His new life and his new friends in Valemont made him very happy. He even liked his new school. His teachers were nice, and lots of people wanted to be friends with him. In fact, he was now so popular that he had trouble finding time to be alone!
After all, he was kind of famous. He and Marty and the other E Street Skates were the celebrities of the new league. And why not? They were its founding members!
As for the Bad Boys, there would be another game coming up with them soon. It was a rivalry that would go on and on. Kirby knew that his team would win some and lose some. But that didn’t bother him. He knew that was the way it was supposed to be.
One evening, after supper, his dad went into the pantry and came out with a gift box. “Kirby,” he said, “this is for you, from Mom and me. We wanted to do this for you during the summer, but we decided to wait until the new league was in full swing. Here. You’ve earned these.”
Kirby took the box and opened it up. To his amazement, inside was a brand-new pair of specially designed hockey skates!
“Mom! Dad! I can’t believe this — these must have cost a fortune! You shouldn’t have —”
“Never mind that,” his mom said, giving him a hug and a kiss. “You’ve proven to us that you have what it takes to succeed.”
“Not just as a hockey player, either,” his dad added. “As a whole person. You’ve taken hits and gotten back up; you’ve overcome lots of obstacles. You’ve got grit, son. Grit and courage.”
“And ingenuity, too,” his mom said proudly, stroking Kirby’s hair back and straightening his glasses. “Not only have you stuck with your chosen sport, but you’ve helped create a rink and a real hockey league!”
“I told you guys in-line hockey was a great sport,” Kirby said with a grin.
“Well, it is a little rougher than I feel comfortable about,” his mother said, wincing. “But it isn’t all that terrible. Besides, you’ve given your father and me a new respect for the game.”
“That’s right,” his dad said. “After all — it’s helped our son grow up.”
Kirby stood there, between the two people he loved most in the world, with his new skates before him on the table, and all his new friends to call up to spread the good news.
“Boy,” he said, “I feel like the luckiest kid alive!”
Roller Hockey Associations
If you would like to learn more about in-line roller hockey, contact:
USA Hockey In-Line Hotline
1775 Bob Johnson Drive
Colorado Springs, CO 80906
tel. (719) 576-8724
http://[email protected]
Roller Hockey International
13070 Fawn Hill Drive
Grass Valley, CA 95945
tel. (916) 272-7825
www.rollerhockey.com
Teams in the Roller Hockey League
Chicago Roller Hockey
7 Happy Road, Suite 8
Northfield, IL 60093
tel. (847) 446-1400
Denver DareDevils
1050 17th Street, #1500
Denver, CO 80215
tel. (303) 796-2600
Empire State Cobras
1 Civic Center Plaza
Glens Falls, NY 12801
tel. (518) 798-0816
Long Island Jawz
100 Ring Road West, Suite 211
Garden City, NJ 11530
tel. (201) 507-8505
Minnesota Arctic Blast
3800 First Bank Plaza
P.O. Box 357
Minneapolis, MN 55440
tel. (612) 452-3712
Oakland Skates
Worldwide Roller Hockey Facilities
12526 High Bluff Drive, Suite 210
San Diego, CA 92130
tel. (619) 259-6525
Oklahoma Coyotes
No Address Available
tel. (212) 480-2507/(800)445-6749
Philadelphia Bulldogs
Core States Spectrum
3601 South Broad Street
Philadelphia, PA 19148
tel. (215) 389-9435
Salt Lake City Sundogs
2102 East 3300 South
Salt Lake City, UT 84119
tel. (801) 487-8988
San Diego Barracudas
1743 South Douglas Road, Suite F
Anaheim, CA 92806
tel. (714) 385-1769
Vancouver Voodoo
Orca Bay Sports Group
800 Griffiths Way
Vancouver, BC, Canada V6B 6G1
tel. (604) 899-4604
Matt Christopher®
Sports Bio Bookshelf
Terrell Davis Lisa Leslie
John Elway Tara Lipinski
Julie Foudy Mark McGwire
Wayne Gretzky Greg Maddux
Ken Griffey Jr. Hakeem Olajuwon
Mia Hamm Briana Scurry
Grant Hill Sammy Sosa
Derek Jeter Tiger Woods
Randy Johnson Steve Young
Michael Jordan
The #1 Sports Series for Kids
MATT CHRISTOPHER
Read them all!
Baseball Pals Football Fugitive
Baseball Turnaround The Fox Steals Home
The Basket Counts The Great Quarterback Switch
Catch That Pass! The Hockey Machine
Catcher with a Glass Arm Ice Magic
Center Court Sting Johnny Long Legs
Challenge at Second Base The Kid Who Only Hit Homers
The Comeback Challenge Long-Arm Quarterback
The Counterfeit Tackle Long Shot for Paul
Crackerjack Halfback Look Who’s Playing First Base
The Diamond Champs Miracle at the Plate
Dirt Bike Racer Mountain Bike Mania
Dirt Bike Runaway No Arm in Left Field
Double Play at Short Olympic Dream
Face-Off Penalty Shot
Pressure Play Soccer Scoop
The Prime-Time Pitcher Spike It!
Red-Hot Hightops The Submarine Pitch
The Reluctant Pitcher Supercharged Infield
Return of the Home Run Kid The Team That Couldn’t Lose
Roller Hockey Radicals Tennis Ace
Run, Billy, Run Tight End
Shoot for the Hoop Too Hot to Handle
Shortstop from Tokyo Top Wing
Skateboard Renegade Touchdown for Tommy
Skateboard Tough Tough to Tackle
Snowboard Maverick Wheel Wizards
Snowboard showdown Wingman on Ice
Soccer Duel The Year Mom Won the Pennant
Soccer Halfback
All available in paperback from Little, Brown and Company
ROLLER HOCKEY RADICALS
Kirby fights to stay on the team!
It’s tough to make friends in a new town-and even tougher when your overprotective parents refuse to let you play roller hockey with the only group of kids you can find. Kirby wants desperately to play with the E Street Skates, but his parents say no way-at least not unless Kirby and his teammates can find a place to play that is off the street and safe. But this seems impossible! Will Kirby lose the only friends he’s found in his new town?
Matt Christopher is the name young readers turn to when they’re looking for fast-paced, action-packed sports novels. For a listing of all his titles and information on joining the Matt Christopher Fan Club, please see the last pages of this book.
Roller Hockey Radicals Page 8
