Minnesota captain Grant Potulny is expected to be out until early March after injuring his shoulder during the second period of Saturday’s game against North Dakota.
This is the second straight season Potulny will miss significant playing time due to injury. The senior from Grand Forks, N.D., fractured his ankle in the 2002-03 season opener and missed the next 22 games.
“We’re very disappointed to lose Grant at this critical point of the season,” coach Don Lucia said. “We know, however, that no one will work harder at rehab than the team captain.
“We expect him to have an impact in the lineup when he returns, just like he did a year ago. We’ll miss his leadership and his play on the ice, but the good news is he’ll be back.”
The winger is third on the team in goals with 11, including seven power-play goals, and has 19 points overall in 26 games this season. Potulny, the Most Outstanding Player of the 2002 Frozen Four, has career totals are 63-46–109 in three-plus years at Minnesota.
Potulny could miss the rest of the regular season for the Gophers, who finish their WCHA schedule against St. Cloud State March 5-6.
He joins his brother Ryan, a Gopher freshman, on the injury list. The younger Potulny injured his knee in early November — coincidentally, also against the Sioux — and is expected to miss the rest of the season.
