Iced Out

Four years before the main story, eighteen-year-old Oakley Reed offers a sportsmanlike compliment to Quinton de Haas after beating his rival's team for Chicago's city championship.

Four years before the main story, eighteen-year-old Oakley Reed offers a sportsmanlike compliment to Quinton de Haas after beating his rival's team for Chicago's city championship. Quinton—volatile, furious over the loss—slams Oakley against a hallway wall and accuses the Reed family of buying off referees. The accusation hits a nerve Oakley has spent his life protecting: the desperate need to be seen as his own player, not the legacy of his NHL-legend father and uncle. When Quinton insists Oakley's path was paved by his last name rather than merit, Oakley does something wildly out of character. He throws the first punch. That single swing cements a rivalry neither will outgrow—especially once fate lands them on the same college team.

Oakley watches his rival wear the title he was born for

It's October of senior year at Leighton University. Quinton de Haas—hot-tempered forward and newly named captain—bursts into the locker room an hour late for the home opener. Oakley Reed, the openly gay forward who expected the captaincy after years of grooming by his uncle the head coach, watches with barely concealed fury. Last season, a hit intended for Quinn shattered Oakley's collarbone instead, costing him the title. On the ice, their dysfunction is immediate: Quinn hogs the puck, ignoring Oakley when he's open. When an opponent checks Quinn hard, he retaliates with fists, earning a major penalty. The team loses their opener during the resulting power play. Afterward, Oakley's roommate Braxton mutters that they need to remove Quinn from the equation. Oakley doesn't disagree.

Quinn's drug test is sabotaged and Oakley inherits the captaincy

NCAA-mandated drug testing catches Quinn positive for hydrocodone—an opioid he has never touched. Coach suspends him and names Oakley interim captain while arranging a retest. When Oakley confronts Braxton about his strange evasiveness, Braxton all but admits he engineered the result, telling Oakley to keep his hands clean. Oakley, unsettled but unwilling to dig further, says nothing. Quinn's retest comes back negative, confirming his innocence, but the stigma clings like a stench. Teammates eye him with suspicion. Opponents spit accusations. He faces random testing for the rest of the season. The captaincy stays with Oakley. And Quinn returns to a locker room that no longer trusts him—branded guilty of a crime he never committed, by people he's supposed to call teammates.

Oakley witnesses the contempt Quinn hides from the world After Quinn's first game back—another loss—his parents ambush him at the arena exit. His father, a wealthy businessman who despises hockey, delivers a surgical takedown: the sport is a childish…