Jon Merrill out with cracked vertebrae
Berenson: Merrill cracked his vertebrae last night. Guesses it'll be weeks.
Merrill Expected Out Six Weeks -http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2012/10/10_merrill_expected_out_six_weeks.php …
Bad! #blameCanada RT @Spath_Wolverine: Just showed up at Yost and Jon Merrill is in a neck brace watching practice from the stands.
October 10th, 2012 at 4:18 PM ^
well shit......................
October 10th, 2012 at 4:23 PM ^
October 10th, 2012 at 4:25 PM ^
October 10th, 2012 at 4:28 PM ^
It was a semi dirty hit. It was defently from behind but it look more like a hustle play. I dont think the Windsor player ment for him to crash into the boards.
October 10th, 2012 at 4:41 PM ^
October 10th, 2012 at 7:30 PM ^
Ditto, I wish the university could just commit to live-streaming everything that wasn't on the B1G. I'd sit through whatever silly commercials Brandon would want to sell for the ad-space.
October 10th, 2012 at 4:57 PM ^
October 10th, 2012 at 4:46 PM ^
It's a good thing that Connor Carrick carefully weighed the OHL's contention that he wouldn't receive regular playing time against Michigan's recent history of losing important defensemen to injury/illness/suspension (Mitera, Kampfer, Burlon, Merrill) and said, "Of course I'll be an important contributor!"
Do any of the forwards jump out as potential defenseman? Looks like things are going to be pretty thin on the back end again this year.
Edit: I forgot about Mike Szuma, so at least there are still 7 warm bodies back there. Hopefully Serville and Chiasson had productive offseasons.
October 10th, 2012 at 4:49 PM ^
As big of a loss as he is the defensive pairings of Trouba/Moffat Bennett/ Chiasson could still be considered one of the best defensive groups in the ccha. our third line however not so much
October 10th, 2012 at 4:55 PM ^
I'm sure you mean Moffie, not Moffat. And now I lock in the mistake.
Serville/Clare will be the third line if the first two pairings end up as you say, and Szuma the freshman will be the 7th D-man.
October 10th, 2012 at 4:51 PM ^
Sucks, but hopefully it keeps him a little bit fresher for the meat of the CCHA season (like last year) and we can go on another January-March run (like last year). His absence will get the younger guys more minutes early on this year, which is good for their development.
Also, I was at the game, and it was scary. We saw his head snap back immediately, and he almost fell over after he got back up to his feet. Looked like concussion, assuming that's not a factor, the broken vertebrae could almost be considered lucky.
Get well soon and get back on the ice, Jon!
October 10th, 2012 at 5:07 PM ^
My bad i meant moffie. initially i did not think the collision was that bad until i saw him get up and he could barely skate stright. I agree it was very scary.
October 10th, 2012 at 5:30 PM ^
Ugh... that's going to be a problem I think. Guess some of the younger guys will have to step up... expectation for the position and other coach talk what not.
October 10th, 2012 at 6:08 PM ^
Neck injuries are always scary if they don't heal properly and can cause issues later on. I had bad cross check to the back of the neck and it was bruised during a high school hockey tournament game in Columbus IN. It took a while to heal up. Just having a pillow under my head was uncomfortable and hurt like hell. Hope he recovers well. He's a big playmaker for us.
October 10th, 2012 at 6:13 PM ^
He stuck it out last year through his suspension and was coming in to this year presumably glad to be back 100% of the time and then this happens in the first real game. Crappy
October 10th, 2012 at 6:45 PM ^
I hope that asshole from Windsor gets his ass kicked in their games. Jamming someone into the boards, in the neck area is bullshit.
October 10th, 2012 at 8:50 PM ^
HUGE blow, and I'm not sure how comfortable I feel with this possible Clare/Trouba pairing. At least, that's what I heard. Trouba/Moffie sounds like a lot better balance of offense/defense.