‘There was a lot of pain’ – Kelowna Rockets forward Andrew Cristall

For Kelowna Rockets forward Andrew Cristall, up until Tuesday night in Tri-City, a thread and needle on the Washington Capitals prospect’s face was never required.

“There was a lot of pain,” Cristall recalled after being struck by a puck in the side of the head courtesy of a slap shot off the stick of teammate Jackson DeSousa. “I remember standing in front of the net, and I saw it come off his stick, and I tried to get out of the way.

“At first, I thought it was a stinger. I put my hand over my ear and saw blood was gushing out, so I thought it would be best to skate off the ice and not let the blood ooze out.”

The 32 hundred onlookers at Toyota Center appreciate the gesture, instead watching with concern as the 18-year-old beelined for the dressing room with Athletic Therapist Scott Hoyer in tow.

“Having Scotty is awesome”, he said. “He is always there to help anyone on the team whether they are injured or anything they are dealing with. It is nice to have him in our corner.”

This is where the stitches came into play.

“While I was getting stitched up, I could hear they scored, so I wasn’t too happy, so I did what I could to get back out there,” which Cristall did in the third period. “We tried one helmet, and it didn’t really work so we went back with the one I use, and I found a way to get back out there.”

While the original report was 17 stitches to repair his ear, Cristall told RocketFAN that 12 stitches were used to close the cut to his left ear.

“It was my first-time getting stitches so, it was a different feeling”, he confessed. “More of the pain was getting hit by the puck [than getting the stitches put in]. You are just happy they are stitching it back up and my ear isn’t falling off anymore.”

The complications for Cristall didn’t end there. After the game, after getting a bite to eat, the team returned home on the bus, meaning lying on his side could possibly be an issue.

“With the seat configuration, I sit on my right side, so I could lean over and get some shuteye which is nice. That said, it wasn’t the greatest bus ride of my WHL career.”

Knock on wood, but the team’s leading scorer both this season and last has done a great job of staying healthy considering he has a target on his back every night.

“This is the worst blood injury I have had,” Cristall speaking proudly about how the injury bug hasn’t adversely impacted him. “I had a quad contusion, so this latest injury would be the most intense and a little gorier.”

The culprit in this entire story isn’t the stitches or the puck. It is the fact that DeSousa’s shot was high, clipping Cristall.

“He apologized and felt really bad about it”, he added.

“I really didn’t give it to him too hard…a few chirps here and there, though.”

by Regan Bartel

‘There was a lot of pain’ – Kelowna Rockets forward Andrew Cristall

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