On New Year’s Eve in Ottawa during the 2009 World Junior Championship, Ilya Rozanov sits alone in a dark hotel room while his teammates celebrate down the hall. Surrounded by Shane Hollander’s hometown publicity, Ilya chews nicotine gum, thinks about his upcoming move to Boston, and admits to himself he wants a cigarette, sex, and—most pointedly—to find Shane.

Ilya replays the draft-night gym encounter from six months earlier, when competition and proximity nearly pushed him into flirting or worse. He becomes fixated on the idea that Shane might not have rejected him, and he tries to dismiss the obsession by focusing on Russia’s undefeated run and the likely Canada–Russia final.

Meanwhile, Shane is thrilled the tournament is in Ottawa and feels buoyed by family support and strong play. With the gold medal game looming against Russia, Shane hasn’t seen Ilya all tournament but has watched Russia’s games and studied Ilya’s footage, determined to beat him. Shane insists the gym moment was only adrenaline and confusion, though it coincided with Shane breaking up with his girlfriend and beginning to notice men as well as women.

In the gold medal game, Ilya needles Shane at a face-off, and Shane fires back, then backs up his confidence by winning the draw. Shane positions himself to score quickly and ensures Canada wins, taking the gold.

After the loss, Ilya broods over returning to Russia with silver and dreads his father’s judgment, while longing for independence, fame, and a new life in North America. In the handshake line, Shane locks eyes with Ilya and squeezes Ilya’s fingers slightly; Ilya reads it as recognition and a promise that their rivalry will remain intertwined. By the time the line ends, Ilya is already anticipating the next, “real” battle between them.