“Mike,” Aksel whines as soon as he registers the whistle, “no.”
The ref, who’s been there for three of their games this month and whose daughter specifically for asked Aksel to sign her stick, does not deal with nonsense. He doesn’t even open his mouth, just the arch of a brow is enough to discourage any arguments before they happen.
Aksel opens his mouth to complain again, then closes it, but points to the screens hanging above center ice. Mike rolls his eyes but heads over to the officials, waving the other refs over. The rookie who tripped is pulling out all the bells and whistles, having his team’s medics check out his leg.
It takes a minute, but Mike skates back out and reverses the call on the ice. Since they’re at home, this is met with cheers, and Aksel whispers a quick, “takk” on his way to the bench. He catches a low, “tell Rage to quit slashing around the crease,” and grins.