Big loss to Vipers as Henderson out

Jan 30 2009 by Stuart Rayner, The Journal

THE news that Burt Henderson will not play again this ice hockey season is a massive blow, according to Vipers team-mate Chris McAllister – and not just to the giant defenceman, who will have to play through the pain even more often.

Yesterday’s announcement that Henderson’s season has come to a premature end overshadowed preparations for back-to-back games in Belfast.

The Vipers travel to the Odyssey Arena tonight, returning tomorrow for a second Elite League clash.

Henderson recently returned to training after a double fracture of the wrist with hopes high that he might be back in a Vipers’ jersey before the end of the month.

But the 33-year-old has had to admit defeat and with only two days to the league’s transfer deadline – not to mention a credit crunch in full swing – the Vipers will not be able to replace him. McAllister admits it will be a big loss.

“I’ve been through what he’s going through with his wrist for eight or nine months,” he said. “It’s a long process and you think you’re there, but you’re still three or four weeks away.

“It’s frustrating for him, it’s frustrating for us, too. We miss him, but we have to move on with what we’ve got.

“We played weeks and weeks with three defencemen, then four, then two-and-a-half.

“Now we’ve got a rotation of five, going down to four in the close games. We just have to gel as a side and a unit.

“We’ve shown glimpses throughout the year. We do well against the top teams, then we slip up like we did against Hull last Sunday. It’s been tough because we’ve always had guys hurt throughout the year. We’ve always been short of players in practice. But that’s an excuse, right? You’ve got to do your best.”

Henderson has not played since picking up the injury against the Giants on September 20, his fifth appearance this season and only his 19th in all after joining midway through the previous campaign.

McAllister has been playing for weeks with a broken foot. But he refuses to make an issue of it.

“I’m a long way from where I would like to be fitness-wise,” he conceded.

“It’s not fun training every day. I have problems with my foot and my hamstring.

“Practising is not the greatest but you’ve got to make do with what you’ve got. During the games, it’s fine.

“How long before I’m playing pain-free depends on your pain threshold, I guess. It hurts for the first couple of minutes, then goes numb. It’s no big deal after that.”

One thing that can be predicted with absolute certainty is the bad blood between the sides will manifest itself on the ice this weekend. As one of the Vipers’ prize fighters, the onus will be on McAllister.

“That’s fine,” he said. “If they’re worried about us, that’s part of their brains taken up with the physical side and maybe we can get a quick lead.

“They’ve been trying to whip it up in the papers but when it comes down to it, it’s what happens on the ice.”

The lack of defensive alternatives has forced McAllister to rein himself in this term. Unlike five of his colleagues, the Canadian is still below the 100 penalty minutes mark for the season.

“I’ve had to make sure I play as many minutes as possible,” he explained. “My strengths are defensive, hitting and physical stuff in the corner. I try not to handle the puck too much.

“If stuff happens, I know what I’m going to have to do about it. I’m not going to go looking for it because we don’t need another guy getting hurt. If we don’t show our best in Belfast, we’ll be embarrassed on the scoreboard.”