The Sin Bin by Jamie K. Schmidt

Some battles are fought with fists. Others are won with the heart.

Everyone in New Haven knows Jackson “Jax” Thompson’s reputation. As the Charm City Chill’s enforcer, he’s paid to be the monster under other teams’ beds. But after a brutal fight goes viral and puts him in the league’s crosshairs, even his knuckles are telling him it’s time for a change.
Dr. Lauren Mackenzie wants nothing to do with violent men in any form. As the head of New Haven’s busiest emergency vet clinic, she’s got enough on her plate treating the arena’s K-9 unit without worrying about the bruiser who bursts in at 2 a.m. with an injured kitten and bleeding knuckles. But beneath those scars and hard hits, she discovers a gentle giant whose biggest fights happen far from the ice.
When the competition brings the lumber and his team needs him to set the tone on the ice, Jax must choose between scaring the pretty vet off or getting comfortable in the penalty box. But with the league investigating his every hit, a rookie who needs protecting, and Lauren’s own past threatening their future, Jax will have to decide if some fights are worth losing to win the ultimate prize.