It was just another regular season game for the Hershey Bears on Sunday, but it was even more than that for Roni Hirvonen and the Toronto Marlies.
This was Hirvonen's first game since taking a stick to the eye on Oct. 15 against the Utica Comets. The eye injury was severe enough that he was rushed to the hospital after he left the ice.
"I just heard he had left," Marlies head coach John Gruden said following the game on Oct. 15. "We just hope he's okay, that's our number one concern."
The 22-year-old remained around the team as he recovered, watching practices and staying ready for when he could return to the ice. Seventy-five days is how long it took before Hirvonen was seen skating with the Marlies in some capacity.
On Dec. 29, he took to the ice with his Marlies teammates before practice, receiving and shooting pucks. It was an incredibly massive step in his recovery.
Twenty days later, Hirvonen, still wearing the full face shield, skated in his first practice with the Marlies post-recovery. Another big step was taken, and it was a hint that a return could be in sight.
"We're smiling," Gruden said on Jan. 18, one day before Toronto embarked on their eight-game road trip. "It's exciting to see him out there, and if things go as planned, hopefully we'll see him here soon."
And in the fifth game of their road trip, in Hershey on Sunday night, Hirvonen took to the ice — still wearing a full face shield — but wearing a game jersey for the first time since Oct. 15.
"Three months off is a lot of time," Hirvonen told Marlies play-by-play voice Todd Crocker on Sunday, "so the first couple of shifts, I wasn’t really used to that pace of the game. But the further the game went, it felt better all the time."
The Marlies placed Hirvonen with captain Logan Shaw and Nick Abruzzese against the Hershey Bears. And late in the first period, Hirvonen would set up Shaw for a goal. It was Shaw's 14th goal of the season, but more importantly, it was Hirvonen's first AHL point, which he got in his return to the lineup.
"I thought he brought just some energy. Just the way he carries himself, I mean, how can you not like him and pull for him?" Gruden told Crocker about Hirvonen on Sunday. "I think that definitely carried over into the locker room today and it gave our guys some energy that they well needed."
Hirvonen even had some time on the Marlies' power play throughout the game on Sunday, which will do him good as he continues to work his way back. But if there's anything certain, it's that this recovery, and this return, is remarkable for someone like Hirvonen, who's had a difficult last six months.
"It really is. I mean, it just tells us what kind of guy he is," Gruden told Crocker. "I know his teammates really enjoy having him around and it was nice to see him in the lineup today."
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