Puck to the face only one example of Curtis McKenzie’s leadership for Wolves

With 13:40 left in the third period of their Dec. 29 game against Milwaukee, the Wolves’ Curtis McKenzie was hit in the face by a puck. A shot by Wolves defenseman Jimmy Schuldt was re-directed by teammate Patrick Brown and nailed McKenzie, painfully reminding him of the danger of his usual place by the net screening the opposing goalie.

McKenzie was knocked straight to the ice in front of Admirals netminder Troy Grosenick, who immediately signaled to the benches for help. McKenzie got up and went with trainer Kevin Kacer to the Wolves’ dressing room and looked to be done for the game and maybe longer.

Wearing eight fresh stitches on his bottom lip, McKenzie came back with 6:45 remaining. He might’ve returned earlier if not for a wardrobe malfunction.

“That’s Mac. He’s done it forever,” Wolves forward Brandon Pirri said. “He’s a warrior and he’s a leader. No one was surprised he came back. He would’ve been out there earlier but he couldn’t find his gloves.”

McKenzie eventually found his gloves and by coming back to the Wolves’ bench, he showed again why he’s one of the team leaders. It was something coach Rocky Thompson didn’t miss: that McKenzie was exactly where he was supposed to be in front of the net, got dinged for his efforts, but came back quickly after sacrificing his body.

“If you were on our bench you would know what he means to our team,” Thompson said. “Their appreciation for his sacrifice is really evident.”

McKenzie, 28, is in his second season with the Wolves. Along with Brown and Jaycob Megna, McKenzie is one of the team’s three alternate captains and is part of a leadership group Thompson praises frequently.

McKenzie frequently sets an example for the rest of the roster, but usually not as painfully.

“Nobody understands how much it hurts (when) you get a puck to the face,” Thompson said. “You get stitches, and it just speaks to his character. He’s a warrior. Everybody knows it. You get these displays where it shows the heart and the character that he has.”

Asked about it a week later, McKenzie downplayed the incident. He said it was just some stitches and credited the Wolves’ medical staff with getting him back into the game.

If anything, McKenzie made it seem routine for him and other hockey players, though he didn’t know how exactly hockey players make it so routine.

“You get a lot of bumps and bruises during the season,” McKenzie said. “We’re probably used to it a little more than a non-hockey player would be, but it’s nothing crazy. I’ve seen guys come back from a lot worse. It’s nothing much.”