Not many hockey players can bounce back the way UPEI Panther forward Mike MacIsaac has this season.
The 24-year-old O’Leary native’s talent for racking up points and getting under the opponent’s skin has made him one of the most effective power forwards on this year’s UPEI men’s hockey team.
But the player’s 2011-2012 season didn’t look so promising mid-way through last summer.
The 5-foot-10, 175-pound MacIsaac suffered a ruptured appendix in late July.
Soon, the painful condition was compounded by an infection, causing the physical player to lose a valuable 40 pounds.
While many would have hung up their skates for the first half of the season until they recovered, that was the last thing on the mind of the third-year player.
“I wasn’t pressured to come back. It was basically take as much time as you need,” he told The Guardian. “But I didn’t really want to sit out the whole first half of the season in case I did start feeling better.
“Now I’m glad that I didn’t sit out.”
While MacIsaac wasn’t able to attend the team’s training camp or exhibition games, he was a driving force during UPEI’s first regular season game in mid-October.
“I was really working hard on trying to get my weight and strength back up,” he said.
Today, MacIsaac is back to his usual weight, with the quick recovery and stellar performances a testament to the player’s toughness.
MacIsaac has been a pivotal player since first recruited to UPEI by former coach Dylan Taylor three years ago by racking up 27 points in the 2009-2010 season and 24 in 2010-2011.
MacIsaac is consistent in points again this season, having already tallied five goals and 12 assists for 17 points.
It’s also worth noting that MacIsaac leads the Panthers in netting game-winners, with three of his five goals sealing an extra two points for the team.
“He’s got a great shot and good offensive instincts,” said assistant coach Kris MacPhee. “The thing about him is that the bigger the game, he really has a knack to score big goals.”
“We’re hoping that he continues to do that down the stretch this year.”
Finding the net isn’t all the hard-hitting power forward can do.
His impressive point totals and 19 penalties reveals a valuable mix of puck prowess and grit, able to score while also frustrating his opponents.
“That’s just the way I’ve played my whole life,” said MacIsaac. “That seems to be when I’m at my best, when I can get under their skin but also keeping in mind the task at hand.”
It’s a combination that could be critical for UPEI in the last 10 games of the regular season.
“In these last number of games, you need guys like him to step up. He’s been here for a couple of years and he plays a certain type of game,” said MacPhee. “Whether it’s getting under their skin or turning over pucks in the forecheck, we really need him to be going.”
There’s no question that MacIsaac and the rest of the Panthers will be going full-tilt when the team plays the Moncton Blue Eagles at MacLauchlan Arena tonight at 7.
A win would put the Panthers into a tie with the fourth-place Blue Eagles.
