Gophers' Barriball likely to have knee surgery, miss rest of season

Marlin Levison, Minneapolis Star Tribune

Jay Barriball, scoring an overtime goal to beat Air Force last season.

The senior was injured during a routine drill Tuesday.

By ROMAN AUGUSTOVIZ, Star Tribune

Last update: November 5, 2009 - 12:38 PM

Print this story

U MEN'S HOCKEY

Up next: at

Wisconsin,

7 p.m. Friday

and Saturday

TV: FSN (both)

More from Gophers

Jay Barriball, the right winger on the first line of the Gophers men's hockey team, is expected to have season-ending knee surgery on Friday.

Preliminary results from a magnetic resonance imaging exam taken Wednesday indicated that Barriball will require surgery, but a final decision likely will be made today. The senior was injured in a routine drill during Tuesday's practice.

"It is not a [torn] ACL," coach Don Lucia said, referring to a common knee injury in contact sports, "but it is serious enough that if you have surgery, it is a four-, five-month deal."

Barriball scored a goal and had two assists last weekend vs. Alaska Anchorage to reach the 100-point milestone. He has 39 goals and 63 assists for 102 points in 125 career games.

"[His loss] leaves a big void," Lucia said. "The good thing for Jay is he did not get past the threshold" to apply for medical redshirt year this season. The threshold is one-third of the season. If the NCAA gives Barriball a redshirt year, he would have another year of eligibility in 2010-11.

Barriball has played in only five games this season. He missed one game because of a hip pointer.

"I talked to Jay [on Wednesday] and I talked to his dad," Lucia said. "[Jay] is down, as you can imagine. You are a senior and you want to have a great year."

This is the second major injury to a key Gophers player in the past week. Freshman defenseman Nick Leddy suffered a broken jaw Friday against Alaska Anchorage. He had surgery Monday and is expected to be out at least 11 games.

"There is no question that in losing Jay and Nick we lose some team speed there," Lucia said.

The coach added that on the plus side, the team will have another forward available for the second semester. Junior Jacob Cepis, a midseason transfer last year from Bowling Green, will be eligible starting Jan. 2-3 for the Dodge Holiday Classic at Mariucci Arena.

"As a staff, we felt [Cepis] is going to be a top-six forward for us," Lucia said, "and help on the power play, 4-on-4 and all these different areas on the rink. Now getting him will be a real plus."

The 5-8, 175-pound Cepis had 15 goals and 16 assists for the Falcons as a freshman.

"He is a very fast, quick player similar to Jay, only he shoots lefthanded," Lucia said. "And we know Nick is coming back sooner than later."

Sophomore Nico Sacchetti took Barriball's spot on the Gophers' first line next to Jordan Schroeder and Mike Hoeffel during Wednesday's practice.

"Other guys we recruited that we thought could provide offense for us, some of them haven't yet," Lucia said. "Now they are going to get more of an opportunity. They have to step forward."