Indian Horse: Chapter 30 Summary & Analysis

The Moose travel to Kapaskasing, the hometown of their challengers. The arena is very new and full of the team’s trophies from previous years. Saul can sense that his teammates are intimidated by the arena. Furthermore, Fred Kelly was unable to make the trip. Shortly before the game starts, a man comes into the locker room and asks for the Moose “lineup card.” Virgil, who's never been asked for this before, is forced to quickly jot down his teammates’ names. When the man reads the names, he snorts and says, “You got some pretty weird names here.”

The Moose players prepare for the game. The crowd laughs at the sight of Saul and yells that he must be the Moose team’s mascot. Virgil tells his teammates to play “Just like [they] always do. No matter what.”

The game begins, and Saul is immediately stunned by the opposing team’s talent. After only a couple minutes, the score is 5-0, and the Moose are badly behind. But during this time, Saul begins to understand the opposing team’s strategy. He intercepts the puck, skates down the rink, and scores a goal. Within a couple more minutes, the score is 5-4. However, Saul is exhausted from playing so hard.

With seven minutes left in the game, the Moose call for a timeout. Saul can see the fear in his teammates’ eyes. The game resumes, and he pushes himself hard. He passes the puck to Virgil, who scores a goal, tying up the game. In the final minute, Saul manages to skate past an older, bigger opponent and end the game with a Moose victory, 6-5. To Saul’s amazement, the crowd cheers for him—he’s won them over with his talent.