Goalie back in the net
When Aggie goalkeeper Bryce Scherschel stepped into net in mid-November, the sophomore had not seen game action since last year’s ACHA National Tournament in March. He picked up a victory that night, marking his return to hockey.
“All the guys in the locker room were saying ‘Let’s play really defensively and help him out,'” Scherschel said about his return to the ice. “They did. All the defensemen and the forwards played very well.”
Back on the ice, he said, he is happy to report he has no pain.
“No pain, no side effects,” Scherschel said. “I have full range of motion. It was a good game to come back on.”
After playing nationals last season with femoroacetabular impingement syndrome, Scherschel decided to have surgery to repair his hip.
“I guess in layman’s terms, my ball and socket wasn’t fitting together right.” Scherschel said. “I played nationals with a cracked pelvis and I also had a torn labrum, so the surgeon had to sew that up as well.”
Scherschel said the injury was unavoidable. FIS is a birth defect that limits the range of motion, something problematic for a goaltender who relies on his flexibility to stop shots.
“I think it was something I was born with,” Scherschel said. “I’m not sure if my other hip has it, too. But more than anything I think it was overuse.”
He said he has no regrets about playing through pain to help out his team on its biggest stage.
“I’m sure if you talk to any other athlete, they’ll tell you you’re expected to play through pain,” Scherschel said. “Especially at that level, you kind of want to get in as many games as you can.”
The Calgary, Alberta, native opted to have the surgery in Salt Lake City soon after the end of last season and spent months in rehab to come back this season.
Scherschel said the road to recovery was a long one.
The engineering major spent time working with physical therapists in Canada and then returned to the states for this school year, working with Alys Staten, the hockey team’s trainer.
For the first 30 days after the surgery he couldn’t put any weight on the repaired leg.
“The first month after surgery I was on crutches,” Scherschel said. “I couldn’t do anything — it was non-weight bearing.”
At two months he started walking again, and by the fifth month he was back on the ice. He has now played five games for the Aggies and has a .89 save percentage. The question now is how he will fit into a four-goalie system?
This off season, the Aggies brought in Allesandro Mullane and Russell McKay. Those two, along with four-year veteran Cody Palmer, have established a strong goalie staff for USU. Scherschel said he’s just trying to find a place on the team.
“Coming back, I expect no change from what has been happening; there are going to be no guarantees,” Scherschel said. “The four of us are going to have to compete every week to see time in the net. The team’s very fortunate to be in a situation where we can put anyone in net and still be successful.”
Scherschel said he knows it’s going to be a battle. While on injured reserve, three goalies fought each week to play.
“When I was on the IR, it was a battle every week between the three of them to see who would be getting the starts for the upcoming weekend,” Scherschel said.
He said adding a fourth player into the mix isn’t going to change that. Despite being in pain most of last season, Scherschel had 11 starts for the Aggies. As a freshman, he had a .93 save percentage and got the opportunity to be in net for Utah State during its national bid.
“I was lucky last year that as a freshman I was able to start two of the three games at nationals, but there are no guarantees of what’s going to happen this year,” Scherschel said.
– meredith.kinney@aggiemail.usu.edu