Having recently been side-lined with an upper body injury, Nottingham Panthers defenceman, Quinn Wichers (pictured versus Coventry Blaze, courtesy of @PanthersImages) returned to the ice earlier this month, following a spell in the treatment room.

Signing in the summer, from the Utah Grizzlies, of the East Coast Hockey League, the 6ft 4ins star of the Panthers backline only turned professional for the 2021-22 season, the talented player coming on leaps and bounds ever since.

It would however be the Boxing Day clash, a 4-2 road success at rivals Sheffield Steelers, that put Wichers on the treatment table for what at the time was to be “around four to six weeks.”

Treatment though, under the watchful guidance of the Panthers’ Lead Sports Therapist, Laura-Jo Bowler, went great, Wichers returning to the Panthers line-up for the Challenge Cup semi-final loss away to Belfast Giants (3-0, 12 February).

Since then the Panthers, with Wichers on the ice, enjoyed a Valentines Weekend double-header, four-pointer, against Coventry Blaze, before slipping to defeat in their last outing, against Guildford Flames.

In the midst of the double-header with the Blaze the Nottingham Sport caught up with Wichers for a few words.

“Yes, I had an upper body injury which took a little while to come back from,” admitted Wichers, looking back on the past few months.

“I’ve been able to work my way back though, and now I’m happy to be playing games again.

“There’s great staff here, with Laura (Bowler) and Owen (Bramley, Strength & Conditioning), who take care of everything for us, so it’s been great.”

Wichers on-ice return came in the second of back-to-back losses, following on from a great winning streak in which the Panthers had enjoyed.

He, alongside his fellow defensive unit however, certainly played their part in the double success over the Blaze, Wichers glad to be playing a part with his team-mates again.

“It’s always frustrating as you want to be part of it, especially when the team is doing well,” continued the Panthers defenceman.

“With that, you’re trying to come back, and help to continue that success which they’ve been having.

“It’s obviously fun though, to be back in the starting line-up, and to be back playing again, and hopefully we can continue to have more success.”

In facing the Blaze, the Panthers reigned in a plethora of shots at one end, whilst restricting their opponents at the other, posting an aggregate, 12-6 score (6-2 at the Motorpoint, 6-4 at the SkyDome).

Game-time achieved also goes a long way in that return from injury, both mentally, and physically.

“Facing the Blaze was great,” insisted Wichers.

“We had a lot of contribute in different ways, and they are a great team, so it was great for us to put up as many goals as we did, and hopefully we can continue to do that.

“The injury though, that’s healed up a lot and all is going well.

“It’s just exciting to be back out there playing again.”

The Panthers, with two wins and two losses in their last four outings, travel to local rivals, second place Sheffield Steelers, in their next outing (Saturday 22 February), before hosting lowly Manchester Storm the following evening (Sunday 23 February) in Nottingham.

*Article provided by Peter Mann (Senior Correspondent).

*Main image @PanthersIHC Quinn Wichers is happy to be back on ice after injury layoff.