All-American hockey candidate Tyler Bozak of the University of Denver will have knee surgery Friday, but the team is hoping he’ll return next month, his coach said.
“It’s brutal. Pretty upset about it,” Bozak said. “Nothing you can do now but hope for a fast recovery, and get back into the lineup as quick as I can.”
Bozak will undergo arthroscopic knee surgery Friday, after a precautionary MRI on Tuesday revealed the sophomore center tore cartilage in a knee-on-knee hit last Friday at Minnesota State.
“It was a complete shock. I didn’t think it was too bad, but we went and got the MRI and saw that I needed surgery. It’s pretty upsetting, but there is nothing I can do now, but rehab hard and hope for the best.”
Bozak wouldn’t estimate when he might return.
“It’s hard for them to say how bad until they get the scope in there,” he said. “I’m going to take the surgery Friday and stick around for a few days. I’ll be able to go home Monday or Tuesday and get some home-cooking from my parents. I don’t want to rush it by any means. I’m going to take it slow. The team is going to be fine. We’re so talented and deep. I just want to make sure I’m 100 percent for the playoffs, the biggest part of the year.”
If nothing else, the injury comes at a good time, because the Pioneers have begun Christmas break and don’t play again until next year.
DU coach George Gwozdecky said Bozak, who has 21 points in 18 games, will not play in the Jan. 2-3 Denver Cup against Holy Cross and either RPI or Boston University, but he could return Jan. 9 when the Pioneers resume Western Collegiate Hockey Association play against Michigan Tech.
DU’s team doctor, former University of Colorado football player Eric McCarty, will perform Friday’s surgery.
“Tyler will miss the Denver Cup and we’ll know more about his status after the surgery on Friday,” Gwozdecky said in a release.
Bozak is second in DU scoring and has a team-high plus-14 rating. He led the Pioneers with 34 points last season as a freshman.
Mike Chambers: 303-954-1357 or mchambers@denverpost.com
