Injured University of Denver senior Jesse Martin returned to Denver on Monday and was admitted to Craig Hospital in Englewood for at least a week of in-patient rehabilitation.
Martin, who suffered three fractures to his C2 vertebra in an Oct. 30 game at North Dakota, had successful surgery on Nov. 8 to stabilize the vertebra at Regions Hospital in St. Paul, Minn. He is hoping to be released by Thanksgiving to be with his family at their home in Edmonton, Alberta.
On Saturday from St. Paul, Martin said he was “really excited” to return to Denver, “just to see my teammates and everyone who has been supporting me so much. I’m real excited to be able to thank each and every person, in person.”
Martin and his father, Terry, plan to hold a news conference at Craig Hospital today.
One for the ages. Frank Serratore wasn’t exaggerating. After Air Force’s shocking comeback victory over third-ranked Yale on Sunday, the Falcons’ excitable coach said the 4-3 triumph “is one for the ages.”
On Monday, a night’s sleep didn’t change Serratore’s feelings about his team’s improbable four-goal, third-period rally.
“That was the No. 3 team in the country, and they were going to be No. 1 if they win,” Serratore said. “We’re down 2-0 after two and they come out in the third and score (24 seconds) into it. What are we ranked? No. 57 out of 58 in the country? I don’t know, but we’re down 3-0 against what is going to be the new No. 1. …
“And what happens? We come back and score four goals in the final 16 minutes to knock that team off. You don’t see that every day.
“So my comment — I’ve been around 30 years, and I don’t throw (stuff) like that around, I don’t say (stuff) like that and not mean it. I meant it.”
Yale entered the game 5-0 and had scored at least five goals in every game. The Bulldogs were the only perfect team in college hockey, and coupled with Boston University’s two ties against Merrimack last weekend, they might have leapfrogged Minnesota-Duluth (9-1-2) and BU (6-0-4) if they had beaten Air Force.
Footnotes. From a rankings perspective, Air Force’s upset over Yale was one of the most impressive victories in program history. The Falcons beat third-ranked Colorado College and Michigan in 2009. . . . Yale took the game’s final six penalties, totaling 26 minutes. The Bulldogs were assessed minors for charging and cross checking at the buzzer and the coaching staff was given a 10-minute misconduct after tempers flared during the postgame handshake.
Mike Chambers, The Denver Post
