For the Mankato West Scarlets, the winter of 1994-95 was a tumultuous one. As a low-ranking, newly formed high school team in Minnesota—the State of Hockey—the Scarlets lacked the talent and experience of their peers, making every game a challenge of will. Success was fleeting and off-ice conflict pitted underclassmen versus seniors, players against coaches. Scarlets' sophomore John Janavaras was the smallest varsity player, but he played with enough heart to draw notice every time he stepped on the ice. At fifteen years old, he was the team's cheerleader, a fearless and competitive center, and the only son of Basil and Linda Janavaras. He picked up his first stick at four; at twelve, he convinced his father to co-sponsor a Russian team's U.S. exhibition. "Hockey was everything to John," said teammate Jamie Como. When a swift outbreak of meningitis tore through Mankato in late January 1995, the city was shaken to its core: within days, seven cases were logged, thousands of vaccinations were administered, and one tragedy left behind a permanent stain. A tribute to John Janavaras and the essence of hockey he embraced, Scarlet Ice chronicles the season that gave meaning to what was lost.