By Bill Althaus
The Examiner
Gerry Festa considers himself the unluckiest luckiest player on the Missouri Mavericks.
Just more than two weeks ago, Festa was struck in the left eye by a puck that smashed through his mask during practice and tore a gash open just below his eyebrow.
His teammates, coaches and trainer Wes Fillingame rushed to Festa’s side and he was taken immediately to the Centerpoint Medical Center emergency room.
He left the ER sporting a grapefruit-sized, black-and-purple bruise on the left side of his face, 14 outside stitches, two inside stitches and the assurance that he would not lose any sight in the injured eye.
“I’m the unluckiest luckiest guy I know,” an upbeat Festa said following Tuesday morning’s practice session at the Independence Events Center. “It’s so good to be back on the ice. I really felt it out there today. I felt like I was all the way back. I wasn’t flinching, I wasn’t thinking about the eye. I was just practicing, and after what happened to me, I consider myself pretty lucky to still be with the team.”
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