Ice Time — David Trifunov

Paul Bidwell dreams of playing on a hockey team but knows that his mother can't afford to pay for the registration fees or the equipment. So he plays boot hockey with his friends and practises alone every night on the open-ice rink in the park. When the flu and mononucleosis hit Paul's school and his best friend, Vincent, is laid up with a concussion, an opening is created on Vincent's team, the Wildcats. Paul finally gets the chance to prove to the other players -- and to himself -- that he deserves his time on the ice.

[Fry reading level - 3.1