The club prepares for a difficult three-game homestand with practice today at the Olympic Oval with some big news on the injury front.
The Utah Hockey Club will face the Boston Bruins tomorrow night at Delta Center, but first up is practice today at the Olympic Oval.
With that, there were some good news and bad news on the injury front yesterday.
The good news: Robert Bortuzzo, who left Wednesday's overtime loss in Anaheim with an injury, "should be back" tomorrow, according to general manager Bill Armstrong.
The bad news: Sean Durzi will undergo surgery, as reported by TSN's Frank Seravalli and later confirmed by KSL Sports' Cole Bagley, and is slated to miss up to 5 months, potentially jeopardizing the rest of his season.
Missing Durzi, who just signed a 4-year extension with the team in the off-season, is a huge blow to Utah's blue line, but help is waiting in the wings with the potential return of John Marino from injury and two-way signing Kevin Connauton still down in Tucson.
It'll be quite a test for the young team to respond to adversity, especially after a grueling four-game road trip that saw them pick up 5 of a possible 8 points, which head coach Andre Tourigny said was a huge accomplishment.
Practice in Kearns starts at 11:30 a.m. today, so stay tuned to The Hockey News - Utah for more stories out of the Oval.