Lawrence Nycholat was at practice yesterday morning at MTS Centre, and all limbs and appendages were still attached to his body.
Considering how the defenceman's injury-plagued season has gone for the Manitoba Moose thus far, that's a good thing.
The 30-year-old had a rather scary experience in the third period of Monday night's 2-1 shootout win over the Abbotsford Heat. He got tangled up with a Heat player, who fell forward as a result of the collision. As the Heat player fell, his skate came up and caught Nycholat in the groin area.
His skate blade found a spot that wasn't protected by any padding, and it resulted in a cut that required eight stitches to close.
"It was close to a not-so-good area, but it could have been much worse than it was," Nycholat said after yesterday's workout. "It's a tender area, obviously, even on a good day. It was a little bit shocking seeing a cut down there."
You can say that again. And this coming from a guy who played in only two of Manitoba's first 33 games due to injuries sustained in an illegal check from behind.
Nycholat winced a few times during yesterday's workout, but all indications are he will be in the lineup tomorrow when the Moose battle the Texas Stars in their annual New Year's Eve game. The puck drops at 4 p.m. at the MTS Centre.
Monday night's contest was only Nycholat's fourth since returning to the lineup, and he wasn't surprised to have another brush with danger.
"It's kind of par for the course so far," said Nycholat, who has one assist in six games.
PROMISING NEWS: It's been the year of the head injury in hockey, but there appears to be good news on the Matt Pettinger front.
The Moose forward had his bell rung in Sunday's win over Abbotsford and missed Monday's rematch, but head coach Scott Arniel said his concussion is not severe.
Pettinger, who has six goals and six assists in 20 games, could play tomorrow against Texas.
AROUND THE GLASS: Defenceman Nolan Baumgartner (finger) won't play tomorrow, but he could be back in the lineup for Saturday's rematch against Texas ... Baumgartner will be the lone Moose on the Canadian team at next month's AHL all-star game in Portland, Me. Baumgartner was named captain earlier this month, and the rest of the all-stars were revealed yesterday.
kirk.penton@sunmedia.ca
