Ice League Series by S.C. Kate

Three periods, two referees, one figure skater…After a rough first billeting experience, best friends Nick and Griff have finally rigged it up to live on their own and enjoy playing hockey together.But when Nick taunts the other team and ropes Griff into yet another fight, their Coach gives them a final ultimatum: Either learn to respect the game by becoming referees at the rink… or get kicked off the team…That’s how they find themselves reffing a squirt game on a Friday night at the Ice League... moreThree periods, two referees, one figure skater…After a rough first billeting experience, best friends Nick and Griff have finally rigged it up to live on their own and enjoy playing hockey together.But when Nick taunts the other team and ropes Griff into yet another fight, their Coach gives them a final ultimatum: Either learn to respect the game by becoming referees at the rink… or get kicked off the team…That’s how they find themselves reffing a squirt game on a Friday night at the Ice League._____Savannah Callahan’s little brother, Duke, is her best friend. It’s the two of them against the world.That’s why she takes her job as an older sister seriously and tries to help him with his hockey skills… and with his game temperament. The parents of Duke’s teammates unfortunately call him “a little ball of hate” because he loses his temper and racks up so many penalty minutes…During Duke’s Friday night game, he gets a breakaway and is making his way to the net when a kid trips him to send him flying toward the goalie on his stomach. Savannah can’t blame him for fighting this time… and she watches through her hands as Duke lands a couple punches on the other kid.When the refs finally separate the kids, Duke is being dragged by his jersey to the penalty box instead of being given a penalty shot, which is definitely unfair.Savannah immediately stands up to yell at the refs, but they just shake their heads and look back at her with smirks…She tries to watch the rest of the game in peace… but she can’t help but notice that the refs keep looking her way…At first she thinks maybe they were just checking to see if the net in front of her is off…But nope.As the play comes down to her end of the ice, she notices blue eyes looking directly at her… less

Duke Callahan thought he’d spend his offseason months partying with the Stanley Cup again. It never crossed his mind that he’d sustain a season-ending injury in the playoffs and end up back home trying to recover. He hadn’t visited his old rink since he left for junior hockey seven years ago, but there’s not much else to do in Northfield, Minnesota with a concussion and broken ankle... moreDuke Callahan thought he’d spend his offseason months partying with the Stanley Cup again. It never crossed his mind that he’d sustain a season-ending injury in the playoffs and end up back home trying to recover. He hadn’t visited his old rink since he left for junior hockey seven years ago, but there’s not much else to do in Northfield, Minnesota with a concussion and broken ankle. But when he wanders into the Ice League Arena looking for a summer coaching gig, he sees her… But that wasn’t possible. She moved to Canada for her figure skating around the same time he left for juniors. He tells himself it’s just his mind playing tricks on him… because all his memories of this place included her. _______ Coming back home to train at the Ice League wasn’t Claire Kessel’s first choice, but neither was breaking up with her old skating partner. Her new plan– find a better partner who will help her wrap up her skating career so she can finally start moving on with her life goals. She knows she needs to stay focused this summer, but unfortunately, all focus goes out the window when she sees him. She also knows that a better woman would’ve walked away with class… But she can’t stop seven years worth of a grudge from bursting forward. Because Duke Callahan got the last word seven years ago, and she’d rather die than not get it this time. less

Detroit sportswriter Addie Kessel was looking forward to the hockey season starting back up again, but all excitement flies out the window when she’s assigned to write a feature piece on the team’s new rookie, Tyler Jettersen. Because Tyler’s older brother… is her ex-fiance. After a bit of research, Addie finds that neither Jettersen brother has ever given anyone an interview in all the years they’ve been playing hockey. No one knows their story. No one besides Addie, that is... moreDetroit sportswriter Addie Kessel was looking forward to the hockey season starting back up again, but all excitement flies out the window when she’s assigned to write a feature piece on the team’s new rookie, Tyler Jettersen. Because Tyler’s older brother… is her ex-fiance. After a bit of research, Addie finds that neither Jettersen brother has ever given anyone an interview in all the years they’ve been playing hockey. No one knows their story. No one besides Addie, that is. The only problem– when Addie contacts Tyler for an interview, he says he’ll only do it under one condition… She has to do the one thing she swore she’d never ever do again… Talk to Casey Jettersen. ________ Casey Jettersen should’ve been living it up. He’s a veteran NHL player and one of the league's best defensemen. But he can’t seem to get over the fact that he’s missing the one and only thing he ever wanted in life… The one person who helped him get where he is today. The person who’s currently calling him after a decade of silence. less

You know those videos people get tagged in that are like - “If your boyfriend is named Garrett and he was at Firebird on 11/3… Sorry, but he’s cheating on you”?Well, it sucks to be the fiancée at home being cheated on; it sucks worse getting tagged a million times while trying to forget about the whole thing and sleep.So can you really blame me for going live on social media and getting drunk while destroying my fiance’s (ope– ex-fiance’s) fancy hockey suits and apartment?Whatever. It happened... moreYou know those videos people get tagged in that are like - “If your boyfriend is named Garrett and he was at Firebird on 11/3… Sorry, but he’s cheating on you”?Well, it sucks to be the fiancée at home being cheated on; it sucks worse getting tagged a million times while trying to forget about the whole thing and sleep.So can you really blame me for going live on social media and getting drunk while destroying my fiance’s (ope– ex-fiance’s) fancy hockey suits and apartment?Whatever. It happened. And it would’ve been fine if it weren’t for the fact that I’m a teacher and the now viral video will probably get me fired.At least I already know what I’ll tell my administration about the Moving forward, I promise to avoid hockey players at all costs. I finally masterminded my life to be I share a loft with my buddies, play on a dream hockey team, and am finally living close enough to visit my older brother all the time.So when my stupid fortune cookie reads that I should “beware of strange changes in the last days of the year” and that “bad luck will haunt you to allow for good fortune in the new year”... well, I freak out. I am the most superstitious guy on my hockey team, so can you really blame me?Fast-forward to me getting absolutely brickwalled by a goalie at my next game, and then being forced to participate in a school reading in the name of community outreach– I hate school.I tried to grin and bear it with the whole school thing, I really did, but when my friends start teasing me that I don't know how to read in front of the hottest teacher I’ve ever seen… Well, I stupidly volunteer to read.And my reading time was going really well… Until a kid’s snot-rocket landed right on my shoe and I said, oh fudgeeee. Unfortunately, I did not say the word ‘fudge’, if you know what I mean.Now the hot teacher is yelling at me to wait in the hall.And I just know the bad luck and “strange changes” aren’t going to stop here. I just wonder if the rest of the changes will be good or bad… less