Timberwolf Hunt (4 page)

“Just like old times,” Tom said to Johnny as they skated to the face-off circle on the right side in the Timberwolves' zone. “You and me.”

“Yes,” Johnny said, “thanks to Stinky. I never thought I'd say this. But I like that dog.”

“I know,” Tom said. “After the game, I'm going to give Stinky three hot dogs for taking Eldridge's skate and hiding it.”

“Too bad Eldridge is in so much trouble with his dad,” Johnny said. “He's spent all game looking for it. Coach Elwell is sure going to yell at Eldridge on the way home.”

“But we're winning,” Tom said. “Doesn't it feel good?”

Johnny nodded. “Let's kill this penalty.”

“No,” Tom said, “let's score a shorthanded goal and put this game away.”

Tom reached the face-off circle. He leaned on his stick and got ready for the puck. The Leaf center got ready too.

When the referee dropped the puck, Tom knocked it out of the air toward Johnny. Johnny turned his body into the Leaf winger beside him and kept the winger from getting the puck.

Tom broke toward open ice, halfway to the blue line.

The Leaf center moved toward Johnny to help the Leaf winger fight Johnny for the puck. Johnny saw the center coming. He kicked the puck between the center's skates. The puck reached Tom.

Johnny squirted between the center and the winger and jumped forward.

The Leaf defenseman on Johnny's side was moving toward Tom to stop him. That was a mistake. The defenseman should have backed up instead of pinching in.

Tom saw that the defenseman had trapped himself too far inside the blue line. He flicked a backhand pass back to Johnny, who was moving at full speed along the boards.

The Leaf defenseman turned around, but to catch Johnny, he had to start from standing still. He didn't have a chance.

But Tom had been moving forward anyway, and it was easy for him to keep going forward and pull away from the first Leaf defenseman. Now Johnny and Tom had a two-on-one against the final Leaf defenseman!

They skated at full speed as they crossed the center line.

Johnny stayed wide with the puck and crossed the blue line into the Leaf's zone. The Leaf defenseman had to move to that side of the ice or Johnny would have a breakaway.

Tom slowed down a little. That was better than skating full speed and keeping the defenseman between them. Now it was easy for Johnny to flip a pass back to Tom.

Tom faked a slap shot, and the Leaf defenseman went back toward him to stop it.

Johnny kept streaking and cut in toward the goalie. Tom put the puck on his stick. Johnny snapped the puck into the right side of the net.

Shorthanded goal! Eight to three for the Timberwolves!
And not enough time left in the game for the Leafs to score five goals to catch them!

Johnny raised his stick to celebrate. As he swung around the corner to give Tom a high five, he noticed someone under the stands.

He wasn't sure, but it looked like Eldridge.

With Stinky beside him.

That couldn't be, Johnny thought. Nobody would ever want to spend time hiding under the stands with Stinky.

He didn't have much time to wonder. Tom reached him and slapped his back.

“Great goal,” Tom said. “Just like old times!”

Johnny looked back under the stands. He didn't see anybody.

“Yes,” Johnny said to Tom, “just like old times.”

Johnny Maverick was the last player in the dressing room.

Even though they had won, Coach Elwell was in a bad mood. He had left early with his son. The rest of the players were happy. They sat around and joked for a while, until one by one, they left.

Johnny wasn't as happy as he thought he would be. He had scored three goals, and the Timberwolves had won. Now they only needed to win one more game to make the playoffs. And they had two games left to play in the next two weeks. By then, Coach Smith would be back from vacation.

But Johnny kept remembering what he had seen after
scoring the shorthanded goal. Could that have been Eldridge hiding under the stands with Stinky? But why? Eldridge knew he was in big trouble for losing the skate. He should have been looking for it. He should not have been hiding under the stands with the thief. Especially when the thief was so smelly that it left a green cloud everywhere it went.

Johnny began to throw his equipment into his hockey bag.

The door opened.

“Hi, Mr. Gregg,” Johnny said.

Mr. Gregg was an older man with gray hair. He wore a parka all the time, even though it wasn't that cold in the arena.

“Hi, Johnny,” Mr. Gregg said. He stood in the doorway. “Sorry. I didn't know you were in here. I was just going to lock up.”

Stinky walked into the dressing room. Stinky was always looking for food. Anywhere.

“Just getting ready to go,” Johnny said.

There was a long rude noise inside the dressing room. It did not come from the front end of Stinky.

“Yes, sir,” Johnny said, jumping up and dragging his hockey bag to the door. “Getting ready to go now.”

Too late. The smell nearly knocked Johnny over. He couldn't believe Mr. Gregg didn't notice. But Mr. Gregg had had Stinky for years. The smell never seemed to bother him.

“Johnny?” Mr. Gregg said. “I found something I need to ask you about.”

“Sure,” Johnny said. “Could we talk in the hallway?”

Mr. Gregg followed Johnny into the hallway. Johnny was glad that Mr. Gregg left Stinky inside the dressing room. Still, some of the smell leaked out from under the door. Johnny pressed an arm against his nose.

“I found a skate,” Mr. Gregg said. “I heard that Eldridge was looking for his skate and had to miss the game.”

Johnny nodded from behind his arm. “It must be Eldridge's skate. Where did Stinky leave it?”

Mr. Gregg frowned. “Stinky didn't take it.”

“He must have taken it,” Johnny said. “Eldridge looked all over for it.”

“I found it on the top shelf in my janitor's closet,” Mr. Gregg said. “It was under an old blanket that I use to wipe oil off the ice-cleaning machine. Do you think Stinky put it there? Or did someone on your team hide it there to keep Eldridge from playing?”

Johnny blinked a couple of times. It wasn't from the smell. It was from surprise.

“Good question, Mr. Gregg,” Johnny said. “I'll see what I can find out.”

Johnny met Eldridge at school the next morning before classes started.

“I found your skate,” Johnny said.

“I don't believe it,” Eldridge said.

“Because you thought you did such a good job of hiding it,” Johnny asked, “while you were in the closet yelling for us to let you out?”

Eldridge looked at the floor.

“I won't tell anyone,” Johnny said. “Especially Coach Elwell.”

“My dad is very angry with me,” Eldridge said. “He wasn't going to buy me new skates until I earned enough money to pay for half.”

“You knew that would happen, but you still hid the skate,” Johnny said.

“You should have thrown my skate away,” Eldridge said. “Then I would have missed the next two games, and the Timberwolves would make the playoffs.”

“I won't lie to you,” Johnny said. “I was tempted.”

“I try my hardest,” Eldridge said, “but I'm not as good as my dad wants me to be.”

“Plus, players should never tell coaches what to do, right?”

“Right,” Eldridge said. “That's the way he coaches.”

“So you would rather be in trouble with him for losing a skate than for telling him what to do?”

“Yes,” Eldridge said. “What else could I do to help the team? Please go and hide my skate, and don't let anyone know you found it.”

“I can't do that,” Johnny said.

“Why not?” Eldridge asked.

“Because you wanted to help the team so much
that you let your dad yell at you for getting lost in the closet. You didn't tell him that Tom and I locked you in there.”

“We need to make the playoffs,” Eldridge said. “Remember?”

“I remember that you wanted to help the team so much that you hid under the stands with a dog as stinky as Stinky,” Johnny said.

“It was bad,” Eldridge admitted. “How can a dog have that much gas? He could fill a hot air balloon.”

“That's what I mean,” Johnny said. “You really are a team player. You deserve to play and to help us make it to the playoffs.”

“But I'm not good enough.”

“Maybe not right now,” Johnny said. “But our next game isn't for a week. And the next one after that is another week away. That gives us two weeks to help you get better. After that, Coach Smith will be back. Then it won't be a problem for you or us.”

“Us?” Eldridge said.

“The whole team,” Johnny said. “When I told them how badly you wanted to help us, they thought you should keep playing too.”

“Even Tom?” Eldridge said.

“Especially Tom,” Johnny said. “And that's a good thing.”

“Why?” Eldridge asked.

“You have to ask?” Tom said. He had sneaked up behind Eldridge.

Eldridge jumped.

“I'm the one who can teach you the most,” Tom said. “I'm one of the best centers in the league. That's not bragging. It's just a fact.”

“Thanks, guys,” Eldridge said. “This means a lot to me.”

“No problem,” Tom said. He patted Eldridge on the back. “See you on the ice.”

Eldridge walked away.

“We're going to make the playoffs, aren't we?” Johnny said.

“Of course we are,” Tom said. “The whole team is going to help him get better.”

“So did you really have to put that piece of paper on his back when you patted him?” Johnny asked.

Eldridge was partway down the hall. Already some kids were starting to laugh. He didn't know it, but he had a sign on his back, a sign with a special message:

“Of course I had to do it,” Tom said. “He's part of the team.”