Sam Ruopp remembers seeing the puck flying off the stick of Tri-City American shooter Tyler Sandhu as he dropped down on one knee to try to block the slapshot.
But after that, his memories of that night 10 days ago in Kennewick, Wash., become more of a blur.
The puck was on edge as Sandhu shot it and it rose up at a sharp angle and ricocheted off the neck of the veteran Cougars defenceman. It could have been much worse but the puck caught the edge of Ruopp's neck rather than straight on, and there was no damage to his blood vessels.
"Obviously, getting a slapshot in the neck isn't the greatest feeling but hockey is a game of inches and I got it in the perfect placement - I'm just very thankful," said Ruopp, who Cougars host the Spokane Chiefs Friday (7 p.m.) at CN Centre.
"My body went into shock and the trainer (Craig Hyslop) came out and I remember telling him what's wrong but I guess I wasn't saying anything. I remember being in the training room and the ambulance guy cut off my jersey and I was pretty freaked about that."
The injury was frightening for all who witnessed it, but especially for the players, who know that part of their anatomy is left unprotected.
"I was on the ice when it happened and I was scared for him, I knew something was wrong with him right when it happened," said Cougars winger Luke Harrison. "The neck is a vulnerable area but it hit him in the muscle and I'm happy he's OK and that he's back playing.
"When the pucks are flying around it's dangerous, especially when guys are shooting high. Neck guards aren't in the league and you just have to be careful when you go down to block shots. I'd wear a neck guard for sure if everyone was. That's something they could look into. The neck's one of the worst areas to get it."
The incident happened early in the game. The Cougars went on to lose 4-1 to the Americans, then dropped two of their next three on the five-day roadtrip. Ruopp missed all those games but the Cats' captain was back in the lineup this week to help them score back-to-back wins at home over the Vancouver Giants.
It didn't take long for Ruopp to return to his fearless shot-blocking ways in a 5-4 shootout win over the Giants Tuesday, and he kept that up in a 2-1 win on Wednesday. The Columbus Blue Jackets draft pick also assisted on Brad Morrison's opening goal Wednesday to help raise his plus-minus rating to a team-leading plus-21.
"I know (shot-blocking) is part of my job so I want to do it well and do it to 100 per cent," said Ruopp.
"These were four points we definitely needed and I'm glad we got the W."
The Chiefs and Cougars are well-acquainted, having faced each other twice last week in Spokane. The Chiefs won the first one 1-0 a week ago Wednesday. Jason Cardiff was the only goalscorer and Lasse Petersen made 30 stops for his third shutout. The Cougars rebounded two nights later with a 6-0 win. Ty Edmonds earned a 35-save shutout, his fourth this season, while Harrison, a former Chief, scored his eighth of the season to help cement the victory.
"They're a big team and they're pretty physical so we have to match that," said Ruopp. "We have to get back to our structure and what we've done this week and just be the better team."
The 20-year-old Harrison played seven games this season for Spokane after he was dealt to the Chiefs from Kamloops four games into the season. The Brandon Wheat Kings acquired his rights in November and he played six games as an overager with the Wheaties until he was traded to the Cougars Nov. 25 for a ninth-round bantam pick in 2016.
Harrison has eight goals and 12 assists for 20 points in 60 games. He's not known for his goal-scoring abilities but his ability to hang around the difficult areas to form a screen in front of the net earns him power-play minutes and his relentless work ethic makes him an effective penalty-killer, as he showed in the two Vancouver games.
"I was (with Spokane) for about three weeks and made a lot of friends on that team and I liked it a lot in Spoke but I'm loving it more in P.G.," said Harrison.
"The games in Spokane) were both physical with people finishing their checks and we ended up taking it to them in the second game, but they beat us 1-0 in the first one. These are going to be two big games coming up against Spoke but I feel like with the guys we have in the locker room and our attitude, we'll for sure take them."
The Cougars (35-26-3-1) are five points ahead of Kamloops for third place in the B.C. Division and are fifth overall in the Western Conference. The Chiefs (29-25-5-4) lost 5-0 Wednesday in Kamloops and are one point behind Portland for third place in the U.S. Division. Spokane is four points ahead of Tri-City for the eighth and final Western Conference playoff spot. Each team has nine games left.
"They play hard, Donny (Nachbaur) always has his team going, they're structured and in the 1-0 game their goalie played very well," said Cougars head coach Mark Holick. "The next night we capitalized on some opportunities.
"They're just like any other team in our league, you have to be structured and make sure you capitalize on your chances. With our team, if we don't skate, we're not a very effective group. We have to skate and put pressure on other team's defence and use our speed to our advantage. I liked the way we played (on Wednesday)."
LOOSE PUCKS: Chiefs head coach Don Nachbaur, who was born in Kitimat and grew up in Prince George, recorded his 650th WHL win just after Christmas and now has 661 victories in 18 seasons behind the bench as a head coach with the Chiefs, Seattle and Tri-City. The 57-year-old Nachbaur ranks third on the all-time list behind Don Hay of the Kamloops Blazers (667 and counting) and Ken Hodge (who totaled 742 wins with the Edmonton Oil Kings/Portland Winterhawks)... Chiefs captain Jason Fram played in his 300th career WHL game Feb. 1. He's one of only 11 Chiefs to join the 300 club since the team moved to Spokane from Kelowna in 1985.
