With four games left on their schedule, the Highlanders need two wins to secure a playoff spot. On a road game in Quebec, after an opposing player concusses Laflamme with a heavy hit, Doug savagely beats the player unconscious and is suspended for the next game against Rhea and the St. John's Shamrocks. Doug encounters Rhea at a diner, where Rhea dismisses Doug's claim that he is a hockey player, calling him a goon. Though Rhea acknowledges Doug's physical prowess and gives Doug his respect, Rhea warns him that if they ever meet on the ice, he will "lay [him] the fuck out." The Highlanders, with Doug suspended and Laflamme hospitalized, lose to the Shamrocks. The aging captain of the Highlanders, an inexperienced fighter, challenges Ross to a fight, Ross offering a chance to back out but the player denies it, and Ross easily defeats him. Doug reaches out to Laflamme and promises him he will always protect him on the ice; the incident touches Laflamme, who reconsiders his animosity towards Doug. In their next game, the Highlanders lead 1–0 thanks to strong teamwork between Doug and Laflamme. In the final seconds, Doug blocks a slapshot with his face and his ankle is injured in the ensuing scramble. Causing the Highlanders team to fight the other team at the end of the 3rd period. The Highlanders win, but need a win against Rhea and the Shamrocks in their last game for a playoff spot. Eva break things off with her boyfriend to be with Doug. Doug later allows the boyfriend to beat him up, Doug believing it would make them about even. After two periods, the Shamrocks are beating the Highlanders 2–0. Rhea and Doug mutually agree to fight in the third period; although Rhea manages to knock Doug down, and Doug re-breaks his previously injured ankle, Doug refuses to back down and eventually emerges victorious, knocking Rhea's tooth out "(Ross appears to smile at seeing his tooth, satisfied he lost to someone he considered a worthy opponent)". Eva and his teammates help a seriously injured Doug off the ice and Laflamme, inspired by Rhea's defeat, scores a natural hat trick, giving the Highlanders a 3–2 lead. As the game enters its final minute, Eva comforts Doug in the locker room as he comments, "I think I nailed him." The film is an adaptation of the book "Goon: The True Story of an Unlikely Journey into Minor League Hockey" by Adam Frattasio and Doug Smith.