ICE HAWKS: Going to Winona, Winona, Winona

PHERSY: Plenty of Ice Hawks notes for you ...

• The Ice Hawks will be down in Winona tonight, scrimmaging against St. Mary’s. I know there’s a caravan of Hawks fans heading down there, so if you’re interested in going, contact a member of the Hawks Nest. Of note, Jay Gorman and Bryce Stevens are playing for St. Mary’s, so those two will get a chance to go against a few of their former teammates. Scrimmage starts at 6:30 p.m.

• Forward Joe Velasquez had surgery yesterday on his “upper body.” Fatis didn’t want me to write exactly where the injury was because it’s in a spot that opponents could go after. It sounds like the surgery went well, and Velasquez could be on the ice this weekend. It was a fairly minor surgery but something that needed to be taken care of. “He’s fine,” Fatis said. He won’t skate tonight, but he should be good for this weekend. At the same time, it’s not the Stanley Cup Finals, so we’ll take everything into account and make sure he’s 100 percent.”

• Forward Myles Flott is scheduled to have surgery on his groin later this month. Depending on how that goes, Flott could be back in January. “The recovery time could be shorter than expected,” Fatis said. It could only be a month or six weeks, which is pretty amazing.” 

• Forward Justin Banaszak has left the team. Fatis didn’t give me a reason why.

• It’s obviously a huge weekend for the Ice Hawks. They’re hosting the Granite City Lumberjacks (13-3) on Friday and Saturday at the Rec Center. This weekend is also Military Appreciation Weekend. All current and retired military personnel, with proper ID, will receive free admission to the Ice Hawks games on Friday and Saturday. There will be a special presentation of our country’s colors on both nights. Also, the Hawks Nest will be selling stuffed animals for the Stuffed Animal Toss, which will take place after the Ice Hawks’ first goal. All proceeds will go to our local Military Family Readiness Groups.

• The Ice Hawks are still waiting to hear what’s going on with possible suspensions from last weekend’s line brawl with the Minnesota Wildcats. If you haven’t seen it yet, go hit up youtube. It’s ugly, all around. The one part that got me was the guy who decided to try to beat up Velasquez. What that player did was deplorable. Velasquez didn’t want to fight, never dropped his gloves, and spent the better part of a minute trying to get away from the kid. When Velasquez, who is injured and was protecting that injury with surgery coming up, did finally break free from that player and started skating toward the bench, that player took a swing at the back of Velasquez’s head. The league needs to make sure this type of play isn't acceptable. If that punch to the back of Velasquez’s head lands, it could have resulted in a serious injury, to a kid who wasn’t trying to fight. Anyway, enough of that rant ... the Ice Hawks should know by tonight if any of their players will be suspended for this weekend’s games. Erik Ordahl, Velasquez (yeah, the guy who was trying not to fight) and Cory Volk are the players who are in question.

• As of right now, Fatis said only Phelps, Flott and Fairbanks are out for sure this weekend. All the other injured players are up in the air. Jackson, Sanchez, Velasquez, Rucinski and Diltz (suffered a broken nose last weekend) all could be available. None of those guys will play tonight down in Winona, but if they progress this week, they could be back in the lineup.

• Fatis said he’ll dress all three goalies tonight. He’s not sure who will play or if he’ll play all three, but he knows he needs to make a decision for this weekend. And he needs to do it soon!

That’s all for now. I’ll check in with coach tomorrow to find out how the scrimmage goes.