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Independence, MO —
In the midst of completing a first-round playoff sweep of Evansville on Monday night, the Missouri Mavericks nearly suffered a crushing loss.
Dave Pszenyczny, the sixth-year pro who was nominated for Most Outstanding Defenseman in the Central Hockey League, left game four minutes in the second period with a nasty cut on his arm, his team leading 2-0 at the time, but returned before the end of the period to help preserve the Mavericks’ 3-1 victory.
“It was a pretty bad cut, but he was able to get it stitched up,” Mavericks coach Scott Hillman said. “I don’t know how many stitches it was. Our doctors did a great job.”
Pszenyczny declined a postgame interview, as a team spokesman said he was “not feeling well at all” and was receiving further treatment. He also took a rough check into the boards near the Mavs’ goal early in the first period, a hit he disliked enough that he subsequently voiced his displeasure with the offending Evansville player more than halfway up the ice.
With the puck in the Mavericks’ zone early in the second, Pszenyczny got hit high on the arm and lost his glove. A few Mavericks on the bench, noticing his injury, slapped their sticks on the ice or against the board, attempting to get the referees’ attention to stop play.
When a timeout was called at the 4:46 mark, Pszenyczny immediately skated off the ice with the team trainer, holding up his wrist wrapped in a towel. If that alone wasn’t ominous enough, the public address announcer at the Independence Events Center soon called for the team doctor to report to the locker room.
Hillman certainly feared the worst.
“I’m squeamish; I saw a line of blood (on his arm) and was afraid I’d see a bone sticking out,” he said.
Instead, Pszenyczny skated back to the bench at the 16:29 mark, as the game’s first penalties were issued, and he saw a shift during the ensuing 4-on-4. In the final minute of the second, he slid to his knees to block a shot.
“If there’s any guy willing to battle, it’s him,” Hillman said. “And we needed him, because we were dog tired the end of that period.”
If Pszenyczny had to miss any games, the Mavericks would be deprived of one of the league’s top scoring defensemen. He played in all 66 games in the regular season, tallying 14 goals and 22 assists.
Now, he and his teammates will get at least a week to rest before the Turner Conference finals.
In the midst of completing a first-round playoff sweep of Evansville on Monday night, the Missouri Mavericks nearly suffered a crushing loss.
Dave Pszenyczny, the sixth-year pro who was nominated for Most Outstanding Defenseman in the Central Hockey League, left game four minutes in the second period with a nasty cut on his arm, his team leading 2-0 at the time, but returned before the end of the period to help preserve the Mavericks’ 3-1 victory.
“It was a pretty bad cut, but he was able to get it stitched up,” Mavericks coach Scott Hillman said. “I don’t know how many stitches it was. Our doctors did a great job.”
Pszenyczny declined a postgame interview, as a team spokesman said he was “not feeling well at all” and was receiving further treatment. He also took a rough check into the boards near the Mavs’ goal early in the first period, a hit he disliked enough that he subsequently voiced his displeasure with the offending Evansville player more than halfway up the ice.
With the puck in the Mavericks’ zone early in the second, Pszenyczny got hit high on the arm and lost his glove. A few Mavericks on the bench, noticing his injury, slapped their sticks on the ice or against the board, attempting to get the referees’ attention to stop play.
When a timeout was called at the 4:46 mark, Pszenyczny immediately skated off the ice with the team trainer, holding up his wrist wrapped in a towel. If that alone wasn’t ominous enough, the public address announcer at the Independence Events Center soon called for the team doctor to report to the locker room.
Hillman certainly feared the worst.
“I’m squeamish; I saw a line of blood (on his arm) and was afraid I’d see a bone sticking out,” he said.
Instead, Pszenyczny skated back to the bench at the 16:29 mark, as the game’s first penalties were issued, and he saw a shift during the ensuing 4-on-4. In the final minute of the second, he slid to his knees to block a shot.
“If there’s any guy willing to battle, it’s him,” Hillman said. “And we needed him, because we were dog tired the end of that period.”
If Pszenyczny had to miss any games, the Mavericks would be deprived of one of the league’s top scoring defensemen. He played in all 66 games in the regular season, tallying 14 goals and 22 assists.
Now, he and his teammates will get at least a week to rest before the Turner Conference finals.
