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Vanecek on Mental & Physical Ordeal, Coming Back From Fractured Cheek

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Just 45 days ago, Vitek Vanecek’s right cheek was “a couple” pieces.



An errant puck hit him on the bench during a San Jose Sharks game on Dec. 17 and fractured his cheek, sending him to the hospital and requiring surgery.

But Jan. 31 he played his first game back since the injury, getting the win with the San Jose Barracuda while on a conditioning assignment.

“It’s not easy to get back for a goalie,” Vanecek said. “It’s hard to get shots [at first] – sometimes, you’re scared. But actually, today I wasn’t and then I felt pretty good.”

The first period felt shaky for Vanecek, as he allowed two goals. But the Barracuda’s performance in front of him – winning 6-2 and allowing 24 shots – gave him a chance to feel better as the game went on, he said.

The veteran San Jose Sharks goalie, 177 NHL games under his belt, said it was difficult to put his goalie mask back on at first following the injury, given that it would touch his slightly swollen cheek and could potentially break it again.

He added that at first he needed to get through the worry about the puck hitting his mask.

“It was hard for a couple practices, but after you stop thinking about it because you’re gonna get sometimes a shot to the head,” he said, noting that’s not always a bad thing. “It feels good, so you forget about that.”

While he doesn’t know exactly what his imminent future holds – whether he’ll stay with the Barracuda for the length of his two-week maximum conditioning assignment or join the San Jose Sharks in a game as soon as this coming week – Vanecek looks like he’s fast on his way to getting comfortable in net again.

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