Bench Him, Baby

The Metro City Vipers have one season before the GM dissolves them for being a tax write-off. Six players, no wins, no coach who'll stay, and one assistant equipment manager who used to be an Olympic hopeful before her knee said otherwise. Birdie Lee is supposed to hand out towels. Instead she's running secret drills, taping sticks at midnight, and learning which of them shuts down after a loss and which of them can't sleep before a game. The league doesn't care. The men do. And as the playoff line comes into focus, Birdie realizes she's stopped needing one of them to save her — she needs all three of them to skate beside her.