Sophomore forward Beau Bennett, who was injured in late October 2011, may return to the ice for the Pioneers on March 8.
“The doctors said I can’t do any strengthening until March 8, so I am just working on getting my motion back,” said Bennett after having his cast removed.
Bennett has been out of the lineup since early December following wrist surgery after he was stepped on in practice in October 2011.
“Beau has not been cleared, probably won’t be cleared to start practicing until I would say, at the earliest the end of this month, early March,” said head coach George Gwozdecky. “He has been given approval to skate, and he actually put all the gear on yesterday and was out on the ice.”
Bennett continued to play through most of November before finding out surgery was necessary.
“I skated with my injury for six games and then got an MRI 5 weeks after when I first got cut, and they said my tendon was cut in half. It was disappointing,” said Bennett.
The Pioneer regular season wraps up March 3 against Nebraska Omaha.
If the Pioneers qualify for the NCAA tournament, Bennett could return to the ice to play in the postseason, which begins on March 23.
It’s a long shot for Bennett to be on the ice for the Western Collegiate Hockey Association’s playoffs, which start on March 9.
However, all signs on the ice point to a quick and stable recovery that could ultimately allow Bennett to return to the Pioneers lineup, depending strictly on if they qualify for the NCAA tournament.
“It was great to see him [out there], and for a guy who, like all of our players, there are times when they are the happiest when they are on the ice; it was nice to see Beau out there and the grin he had on his face just to be able to skate around was great,” said Gwozdecky.
The Pioneers are hopeful to get Bennett back since he was such a force on the team prior to his injury.
At the time of the surgery, he was the team’s third leading scorer.
“We were joking because he can do things with one hand and one leg that many players can’t. His ability, the kick shot which is a banned shot in hockey now, you should see him fire the puck. I mean it’s amazing, he can really fire the puck,” said Gwozdecky. “But it was great to see him back on the ice with his teammates, he can do a few little fun things, he can’t be involved in practice. He hasn’t been cleared for practice, and it won’t be for a while.
Denver is currently ranked No. 17 in the PairWise ranking and needs to be in the top 16 to qualify for the NCAA tournament. The Pioneers host No. 1/2 Minnesota this weekend and travel to Wisconsin next weekend to continue their hunt for the postseason.
