Injury deja vu for Pats’ Wapple
Despite taking a puck in the throat, Daniel Wapple feels like he dodged a bullet.
The Regina Pats’ goaltender escaped with minimal damage after having a shot sneak under his mask on Friday night in a 6-4 win over the Edmonton Oil Kings.
“I couldn’t breathe at the time,” recalled Wapple. “That was the scariest thing. I was panicking a little bit, but it got better. They sent me to the hospital just in case. You can never be too careful with stuff like that.”
Wapple sat out just one game before returning to action Tuesday night in a 5-3 loss to the Prince Albert Raiders.
Although his throat is still a bit sore, Wapple said he’s no worse for wear heading into tonight’s road game against the Moose Jaw Warriors.
He’ll just have to lay off the karaoke for a few days.
“In the game on Tuesday, I was trying to yell and I was squawking like a bird,” chuckled Wapple, who got the night off Wednesday when Regina beat the Swift Current Broncos 4-1. “Even on the bench I was yelling and I could hardly talk by the end of the night.” It could have been worse. The Pats’ No. 1 goaltender wasn’t so lucky at this time last season when he was bowled over in the crease by Edmonton’s Luke Bertolucci, suffering a badly sprained ankle.
“WE WERE KIND OF DEFEATED GOING INTO THE PLAYOFFS. IT WAS UNFORTUNATE. HOPEFULLY WE CAN DO THIS YEAR WHAT WE COULDN’T DO LAST YEAR.” DANIEL WAPPLE
Wapple was forced to miss the last five games of the regular season and Regina’s first two playoff games. He returned for Game 3 but — still noticeably hobbled — wasn’t able to stem the tide in an eventual four-game sweep at the hands of the Brandon Wheat Kings.
“It was brutal,” recalled Wapple. “Things were going so good for myself and especially the team (at the time). We showed we could beat the top teams in the league, then that happened. It seemed like kind of a snowball effect. You try not to use excuses, but it was in everybody’s heads. We were kind of defeated going into the playoffs. It was unfortunate. Hopefully we can do this year what we couldn’t do last year.”
It all starts with a healthy Wapple.
“Getting hit (by the puck), I was a little worried,” he said. “It was in the back of my head (what happened last year), but I’ll be good. I’m fine already.”
The Pats aren’t so sure about rookie centre Sam Steel, who suffered a leg injury on Tuesday against Prince Albert. Steel isn’t expected to play this weekend, but the team is optimistic he’ll be ready for the playoffs.
The situation instantly reminded Wapple of what happened last season when he was hurt against Edmonton and leading scorer Dyson Stevenson suffered a broken wrist a week later versus the Raiders.
“I was like, ‘Oh my goodness, here we go again,’” noted Wapple. “But Steel will be back for playoffs. It’ll be good.”
The good news was more definitive for speedy winger Austin Wagner, who received the green light Thursday to return after missing eight games with a concussion.
“It’s good to be back,” said Wagner, who feels like he could benefit from the time off. “Fresh legs might help a little bit, but I’m still not in game shape. I haven’t played a game in two weeks. Once I get that first shift out of the way, I think I’ll be good.
“I’m going to be bringing my ‘A’ game for sure.”