March roared in like a lion cub: windy, snowy, and full of eight-year-old energy.

Everett Kane (eight and three-quarters, gap-toothed grin, red hair that refused to lie flat under a helmet, and the fiercest slap shot his peewee coach had ever seen on a kid that small) was headed to his first out-of-town tournament. The Evergreen Bears Squirt A team had qualified for the prestigious Frostbite Classic in Duluth, Minnesota: three days, five guaranteed games, a possible championship banner, and ...