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The past 3 weeks have been a frustrating time for new Battalion forward Nick Moutrey.
After coming over to the Battalion in a trade with the Saginaw Spirit on January 8th, Moutrey got off to a good start netting 1 goal along with 2 assists in his first 2 games with the Battalion. However, on the road in Plymouth the power forward sustained an ankle injury that kept him off the ice for 3 weeks.
"This is the first injury of my career so it’s been tough, especially watching the new team and it sucks not playing but hopefully we will be back this weekend," said Moutrey prior to his first practice since the injury.
"I will test out today, first practice in 3 weeks and I guess I will let you guys know after."
Moutrey will not be in the lineup Wednesday as the Troops play a mid-week home game against the visiting Mississauga Steelheads.
Battalion Head Coach and Director of Hockey Operations Stan Butler is eager to get Moutrey back in the lineup along with other injured forward Zach Bratina.
"It’s really hard, as a coach, we try to have patience but we are past that point I would love to see where our team would be and with Nick he’s such a big part, obviously it was a big trade for us, obviously we gave up a good goalie and a lot of picks and we need to get him in the lineup to see where we are at and with the Bratina situation, you really don’t know when someone is coming back from a concussion," said Butler Tuesday afternoon.
The players that are healthy will deal with the 8th place Mississauga Steelheads. The Troops sit 3 points back of the Central Division leading Colts, with the Troops holding a pair of games in hand.
Wednesday night is an opportunity to once again close the gap.
"The biggest thing for us going forward is that we are playing the best hockey we can going forward into the playoffs. As a coach, I don’t look at it as each game as the 7th game of the Stanley Cup playoffs, what I want to see from our team is I really want to see some improvement. I want us to be playing better moving forward, but it’s extremely tough because the team you have on the bulletin board or your depth chart isn’t the team you have on the ice."
Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. Wednesday night at Memorial Gardens.
