Minnesota's injuries continue to mount in the PWHL preseason camp, a fact that head coach Charlie Burggraf and GM Natalie Darwitz spoke to.
Minnesota's injuries continue to mount in the PWHL preseason camp, a fact that head coach Charlie Burggraf and GM Natalie Darwitz spoke to.
No team is pleased when injuries mount, but early in the PWHL Preseason, PWHL Minnesota is taking the brunt of those injuries. After falling behind 3-0 to Toronto, Minnesota stormed back to take a 5-4 regulation win, but it was the loss of players that was the result Minnesota was concerned with.
In their first game of the preseason, forward Sydney Brodt went foot first into the side of the net, and needed significant medical attention and support to get off the ice with what is believed to be an ankle injury, but is being termed a "lower body injury" at the moment. Brodt was flown back to Minnesota Tuesday evening for further medical evaluation to know the extent of her injury.
In their game against PWHL Toronto, Minnesota lost another pair of impact players in Susanna Tapani and Grace Zumwinkle. Unlike Brodt's injury, Minnesota coach Charlie Burggraf and GM Natalie Darwitz were not pleased with the plays that led to the injuries.
For Tapani, who collided hard into the net, it was a play by Blayre Turnbull that put her into the post. Turnbull was assessed a two-minute interference penalty, while Tapani, visibly struggling to maintain her balance, needed to be helped off the ice by medical staff.
Finally, in the mock-overtime portion of the game, Minnesota sprung Grace Zumwinkle who had her feet taken out by a backchecking Jocelyne Larocque. Zumwinkle collided awkwardly into the end boards at full speed, and was in visible pain holding her shoulder as she left the ice, heading straight to the locker room.
The severity of these injuries will significantly impact how Minnesota approaches their final roster decisions next week.