Roller Hockey Rumble Read Free

She sighed. “Good thing we have a whole week before we play. Charlie, let’s show ’em how it’s done.”
    Charlie took the puck from Mark and started to dribble. Bizz followed behind him. When they were halfway down the rink, Charlie lifted his stick and left the puck behind for Bizz to pick up. Bizz captured it, skated the rest of the way to the goal, and shot the puck into the net.

    “See?” she called as she retrieved the disk. “It’s easy! And when it’s done right, it can really fake out the other team.”
    “It’s gonna take a lot more than a few good drop passes to fake
that
team out,” Jonas said from behind them. “A
lot
more.”
    X and Jonas stood outside the rink. They looked upset. “We just checked out the competition,” Jonas continued. He and X sat down at a picnic table. The others joined them.
    “And?” Bizz prompted.
    “And,” X said, “They. Are. Big.”
    “How big?” Mark asked.
    “Let me put it this way,” Jonas said. “If the zoo reports that its gorillas are missing, I know where to find them.”

CHAPTER SIX
    Bizz tried to think of something to say that would wipe the worried looks off their faces. “You know, even if they win, I’ll bet they won’t want to come over here to play. Why would they, when they can play on that lot?”
    Jonas shook his head. “Some big department store bought the property. The construction trucks have already started ripping up one side of the lot. No way Frank and his goons will be playing hockey there anymore. And if they win on Saturday, no way they’ll let
us
play hockey
here
anymore.”
    Bizz felt her stomach tighten. It was her fault they were in this mess. It was up to her to make sure they didn’t lose. And that meant whipping them into shape — fast.
    “All right,” she said, getting up. “So they’re bigger than us. Big deal! We can’t give up without a fight. So let’s go!”
    Slowly, the others got up. As they skated onto the rink, Bizz said, “For the first play, let’s try —”
    “Hang on!” X said, frowning. “What about my plays? And we still haven’t decided who’s playing forward.”
    Bizz checked her watch. “We’re losing time, here. Let’s do rock-paper-scissors to see whose plays we use.” X nodded.
    “Rock — paper — scissors — shoot!” they chanted together. Bizz stuck out her hand, holding it flat like a piece of paper. X’s hand was balled into a fist.
    “Paper covers rock — I win,” Bizz said. “Now do it with Jonas to see who plays forward.” Jonas won and skated triumphantly to the front line.
    “Now can we start practicing? Good.” Bizz consulted her paper. “Mark and Savannah will be our de- fensemen. X and Charlie will try to keep us from scoring.”
    As X and Charlie skated to their positions, Bizz called the others to huddle around her. “Okay, I call this the stack play. Jonas, you start with the puck. Pass it to me right away, then skate toward the goal. Mark, you follow behind him. Savannah, you’re behind Mark. I’ll pass to Mark and take off for the goal. Mark does a drop pass. Savannah picks up the puck and shoots it back to me or to Jonas, whoever’s got a clear shot on goal. Got it?”
    Mark and Jonas nodded, but Savannah wrinkled her brow in confusion.
    “Hello, Savannah!” Bizz said impatiently. “Anybody in there? Do you understand the play or not?”
    Savannah looked at Bizz with hurt eyes, but she nodded.
    “Then let’s do it!”
    They took their positions. Jonas dribbled toward the goal. X and Charlie immediately came out to double-team him. Jonas flicked the puck to Bizz. As
    X and Charlie turned to attack Bizz, she shot the puck to Mark. Mark caught it. Savannah then skated up behind him. He looked over his shoulder and called out, “Ready?”
    Oh, brother,
Bizz groaned inwardly.
Why don’t you just
tell
them you’re going to do a drop pass?
    Sure enough, just as Mark lifted his stick, X swooped in, reached out his stick, and snagged the