I woke up this morning and found an e-mail tip that Tyler Barnes had gotten hurt in practice. A quick check of Madison.com finds an article up from Andy Baggot about both Tyler Barnes and Sean Little being banged up and their statuses unclear for the trip to Duluth.The information I was told is that Barnes may have broken his hand in practice after punching the glass. (Update: Latest I'm hearing is that its possibly a "boxing fracture" whatever the hell that is.)
However, in Baggots article he noted that Barnes practiced yesterday (albeit not on one of the top 4 lines), and usually if you have a broken hand you most likely aren't going to practice.
So just how hurt is Tyler Barnes? Hopefully not very. I'm praying the broken hand rumor is false and that he's just sore. Barnes has been one of the better surprises for us offensively this season and has shown flashes of brilliance at times this year.
Barnes has recently found a home on a line with winger Michael Mersch and centerman Podge Turnbull. The unit has been very solid during Wisconsin's current winning streak.
According to Baggot's article if Barnes and S. Little can't go this week then Derek Lee will take Barnes spot on the Mersh/Turnbull line, Ryan Little joins Patrick Johnson and Sean Dolan on the shut down line, and freshman Jefferson Dahl is back in the lineup centering Jason Clark and Gavin Hartzog. Obviously the Murray/Smith/Zengerle line is still intact.
I'll post more information as it comes to light.
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