By Alyssa Girardi –
EAST LANSING — This weekend possibly could see the return of two key players for MSU hockey, defenseman John Draeger and forward Matt Berry.
The two, along with No. 3 goaltender Nate Phillips, suffered similar lower-body injuries before the start of the season. Each has been on hiatus for about three months before being cleared for full contact practice this week.
“It’s been tough, it’s been tough,” Draeger said. “It’s been a slow process … But it was good to have those two guys by my side day-in, day-out. You’re away from the team so it’s good to kind of have a few guys that are with you each day.”
Draeger, Phillips and Berry began skating in full practices starting Monday, participating in all drills.
Berry admitted it might take a while to return to the conditioning level he needs to be at, but he said nothing in practice can replace game speed. The goal for Draeger and Berry is to return to the ice for this weekend’s home-and-home with Western Michigan (3-5-2, 2-2 NCHC), which could be an opportunity for them to gauge where they’re at.
“Certainly their strength and their conditioning is at an August level as opposed to a November level and that’s the biggest issue to overcome at this point,” head coach Tom Anastos said. “We’re going to monitor them, or continue to monitor them, day to day as to how they’re progressing, how they feel, how the injury feels to see when they’re ready to play.”
Draeger, a sophomore, played in every game for the Spartans last season. He led the team in minutes played and was second among defensemen in assists with nine.
Berry, a junior from Canton, Mich., made as much of an impact on the offense as Draeger did on the defense last year. He was first on the team in scoring, assists and points (15-16, 31 pts.), and only missed one of MSU’s 42 games.
“It’s a little sore but it’s not too bad so hopefully I’ll just keep building all week long,” Berry said. “It’s definitely exciting to get back out there and practice. I’ve been sitting and watching for so long now just to get back on (the ice), I have a lot of energy and I feel ready to go.”