Nikki Worrell - The Enforcer (NHL Scorpions)

This book is dedicated to all of the enforcers in the NHL. Their role in hockey is misunderstood by many. Enforcers protect their teammates often without thought to their own well-being, and often don’t get the credit or recognition they deserve.

5 hole:The area right between the goalie’s legs.

Backchecking:Checking in the defensive zone when the opposing team is attacking.

Boarding:Checking a defenseless player against the boards, usually causing their face/head to hit the boards first.

Checking:Using the hip or body to knock an opponent against the boards or to the ice.

Deke:When a player handles the puck in a way that makes the opponent move out of position, allowing that player to get past.

Faceoff:The method used to begin play. One player from each team fights for the puck as the official drops it to the ice between them.

Forechecking:Checking in the offensive zone in order to get the puck.

Gordie Howe Hat Trick:Getting a goal, an assist and having a fight all in one game.

Hat Trick:3 goals in one game. Fans traditionally throw their hats on the ice.

Major Penalty:5 minute penalty.

Minor Penalty:2 minute penalty.

Offsides:When a player crosses the blue line in the offensive zone before the puck.

Poke Check:Poking the puck away with the stick.

Power Play:Results in the one team losing a player for two minutes or more, giving the other team an advantage to score.

Slew Foot:Sweeping or kicking out a player’s skate causing them to fall backwards. Usually results in a match penalty (removed from the game and assessed a 5 minute penalty for statistical purposes).

Trapezoid (Trap):Area behind the goalie’s net (behind goal line) where the goalie can play the puck. This is the only area behind the goal line that the goalie can play the puck without receiving a penalty.

War Room:Office in Toronto where video is sent to review a questionable goal.

Puck bunny, also known as rink bunny, was a term Lacey Benoit never wanted applied to her. Either term was derogatory, albeit sometimes true. There were actually two types of puck bunnies. There were those who only wanted to look at the gorgeous specimens on the ice, and there were those who truly loved the game of hockey, but couldn’t help a bit of drooling.

Glass licker was another term used to describe the aforementioned puck bunny. Glass lickers were thought of as the girls who went to watch the team practice and giggled the entire session. They oftentimes held up signs reading “A Date #48?” or “Will you marry me ____?” Those were the types who got laughed at, although if they were cute enough, they may very well have gotten a second look and possibly a one-night stand.

Lacey wasn’t into sloppy seconds and that was on reason she had always separated herself from the true puck bunny/rink bunny/glass lickers. There would be no one-night stands for her. That was not to say she was never guilty of drooling over the players from time to time, but you would never see her going home with the object of her lust. She was smarter than that – she knew how that worked. The sad thing was that even puck bunnies had feelings, and when they got that one-night stand they saw wedding bells. Most likely, the object of their affection wouldn’t even know their name in a week. See, what always seemed to happen was that the puck bunnies conveniently forgot that the players they lusted after were just that … players.

Lacey loved the feel of his hands on her body. That man, that gorgeous man had the body of a God, and it was all hers. With one hand he grabbed a fistful of her hair and gently pulled her head back to give him better access to her neck. While running his tongue up her neck and nibbling here and there, his other hand roamed downward over her breasts, down further to her belly and stopped just before the place she needed it most. Frustrated, Lacey pushed her hips up against him in an effort to hurry him along. “Anxious tonight love?” he whispered in her ear. Just as Lacey was about to beg him to take her, she heard a buzzing sound. “Nooooooooooo!” her thoughts screamed. And with that, she hit the snooze button and squeezed her eyes shut. It was too late though, her dream was gone.

It was six o’clock on a Monday morning, and Lacey had to get up for work. She was struck yet again by how fast the weekend went. The work week crawled by at a snail’s pace while Saturday and Sunday were gone in a snap. Wouldn’t it be grand if the weekdays and the weekends could be reversed?

Lately it seemed as if Lacey’s life was like that movie that kept repeating the same day over and over again, and she saw no end in sight. The next morning she would get up, go to work, stop at the gym, go home, eat dinner, watch a little TV and then go to sleep. The day after that would bring the same damn thing. At the ripe old age of 31, Lacey had become boring. She was in serious need of a lifestyle change … or a man … or both.

The idea of packing up and moving out west to give her life a boost looked more attractive every day. Zoe Millis, Lacey’s best friend, lived in San Diego and had been bugging her to move out there since Lacey’s brother, David, died over a year ago. Lacey currently lived in Maine and had always loved it, but there was nothing keeping her there anymore. Her family used to live very close to her, but when David was killed, her parents moved back to Canada. She was alone there now.

It wasn’t supposed to be like that. Lacey had been engaged once. Steven Marlow was everything she had ever wanted in a man, or so she had thought. He was a highly sought after concert pianist. His music was beautiful. When he wasn’t on the road performing, he did nothing but lavish attention on Lacey, telling her how much he loved and how he missed her when he was traveling. They had their whole lives planned out. They couldn’t wait to get married and start a family. It seemed too good to be true. As with many things that seem to good to be true, it was.

Almost one year ago, Lacey was at Steven’s parents’ house getting dressed for her wedding. Steven and his groomsmen were in the pool house getting themselves ready.

A box, accompanied by a note, was delivered to her by his mother. Steven had bought her a necklace that held a charm of a brother and sister. It even had Lacey and David’s birthstones in it. Steven knew how much she missed her brother, especially today. The note he wrote said that the necklace was his way of making sure Lacey knew that David would always be with her, even if he couldn’t physically attend the wedding.

Steven’s thoughtfulness brought tears to her eyes. Unfazed by the superstition of not seeing each other before the wedding, Lacey ran to the pool house to thank him. What she walked into was so shocking – she almost fainted. Steven had one of her bridesmaids up against the wall, and they were both grunting and moaning. That was the last time she ever wanted to lay eyes on him or her friend . It was also the moment that Lacey vowed never to get involved with someone who traveled for work. If Steven was capable of cheating on her on their wedding day, when Lacey was there, she could only imagine what he’d been up to every time he was on the road and Lacey was not there.