This game’s going into overtime.   Janna MacNeil is a publicist on a mission—to change the image of the bad boys of hockey: the Stanley Cup Champion New York Blades.   Ty Gallagher is a captain on a mission—to get his team to win the Cup again…at any cost. His determination is legendary, as well as his unwillingness to toe the corporate line.   When the persistent publicist and the stubborn captain butt heads, it’s hard enough to crack the ice. But they may end up melting it instead… Janna MacNeil is a publicist with a tough assignment: transform the hard-drinking, hooker-soliciting, Stanley Cup-misusing New York Blades hockey team into family-friendly cash cows for Corporate. Her prime adversary is the competitive, gorgeous, brusque team captain Ty Gallagher, to whom public relations means dating a different model each weekend. Ty's stubborn refusal to do anything resembling a United Way commercial collides with Janna's professional persistence, so of course they despise each other, until they end up discovering each other's hidden virtues and making out on the kitchen floor. Tentative romance ensues, as do hockey-themed double entendres: "Don't come crying to me," says Janna's roommate, "when you find out he's shooting his puck into some other woman's net." Whether Janna and Ty's love can survive the playoffs depends on how well they can overcome stubborn gender cliches, and how well readers can weather the infrequency of board-crashing, Zamboni-shaking sex scenes. A lively plot keeps things interesting, however, and Ro- bear, Janna's poetic poseur ex, are downright hysterical. Martin's debut may not melt the ice, but it is heartwarming. Brendan Driscoll Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved "An engaging romance that scores a hat trick due to the lead couple, a fine supporting cast, and hockey..." -- Harriet Klausner, TheBestReviews.com "Deirdre Martin scores with this fantastic contemporary romance. One of the best first novels I have ever read..." -- Ellen D. Michelett, All About Romance "Fun, delightful, emotional and sexy...and utterly enthralling, fast paced novel...a winner! I highly recommend BODY CHECK." -- Joanne Holbrook, Romance Reviews Today "The story is brilliant! The characters will seduce you and the story will impress you...Three cheers for Deirdre Martin!" -- Serena Thatcher, The Word on Romance A great new find!" -- Jill Smith, Romantic Times Bookclub Magazine Rookie author Deidre Martin aims for the net and scores.... She's definitely going on my 'to buy' list! -- Cathy Sova, The Romance Reader Take this fast-paced, thrilling trip on and off the ice.... What a delight. Don't miss Body Check , a remarkable debut. -- Old Book Barn Gazette Deirdre Martin has written scripts for the daytime drama One Life to Live . She lives with her husband and her dog, Molly, in Ithaca, New York. Chapter 01 Not many women could boast bossing around a locker room full of buff, naked jocks as part of their job description, but then again, there weren't many women with a job like Janna MacNeil's. A publicist specializing in retooling clients' images as well as damage control, Janna had been hired by Kidco Corporation to help transform the reputation of the New York Blades, the NHL's Manhattan-based hockey franchise. To put it politely, the guys on the team were renowned for playing hard both on and off the ice. Never had this been more obvious than last season, after winning the Stanley Cup for the first time in twenty years. Everyone knows boys will be boys, but these boys brought the Cup to a number of strip joints around Manhattan, where they enjoyed the rare and singular pleasure of watching ladies with pasties and very little else "perform" with what many considered the Holy Grail of sports. Worse, rumors abounded that a photo existed of a group of players gathered around the Cup with plastic straws up their noses, heads reverently bowed to snort up a small mountain of cocaine. No wonder Janna's crusty new boss, Lou "the Bull" Capesi, guzzled Mylanta like it was spring water. The team was a PR nightmare. Janna was being paid big bucks to change all that. Edging her way through the boisterous cluster of beat writers hovering in the brightly lit, concrete hallway near the locker room door, Janna steeled herself, knowing what awaited her on the other side: naked, sweaty, male bodies. Lots of them. Big, muscled men laughing and joking with each other, flicking towels at each other's butts. Men sauntering off to the shower. Men stretching, massaging their battle-weary bones. She'd met these men-all but their captain, Ty Gallagher, who was a day late to training camp-in these very circumstances yesterday. Lou had introduced her around, and not one of them seemed fazed about parading buck naked or half undressed in front of a petite female publicist. Janna, on the other hand, had had to work hard to avoid the irresistible urge to stare, slack jawed and