Since missing the Lite-Sabres' first game of the season, defenseman Richard MacMillan had been on a tear. In fact, entering the Sabres fourth-week match-up against the Sunnydale Slayers, MacMillan was leading the league in assists per game, and led the Sabres to two straight victories in his two appearances.
All the balls seemed to be bouncing MacMillan's way.
That trend continued in Tuesday's game against the Slayers. Literally.
At the end of a tense first period with the Slayers, the brave MacMillan ventured out of his defensive zone to block a shot. He was successful, but not with the body part he would have preferred. The ball struck MacMillan directly in his unmentionables. Screams of "Sub!", "Medic!", and "HAHAHAHA!" filled the Needham Center as MacMillan limped to the training room, refusing attention from team masseur Jason Powell.
The second period saw a healed MacMillan rejoin the action. But it wasn't long before MacMillan was again throwing caution to the wind, using his body to block a Slayer clearing attempt. And as luck would have it, MacMillan was knocked square in the family jewels. The ensuing macabre shrieks of pain (combined with referee John Dulong's belly laughs), was enough to distract the Slayers, and resulted in the Sabres' fourth goal of the evening.
With the Sabres only flooring 6 forwards, MacMillan decided to play through the agony. And despite hobbling around like a recently neutered dog, MacMillan surprised everybody by scoring his first goal of the season late in the second period. That marker proved to be the game-winner in a 8-5 Sabres victory.
Sabres forward Chad Griffin was impressed with MacMillan's decision to finish the game under adverse circumstances. "Rich sure showed that he had a lot of…uh…courage," said Griffin.
First year Sabre Chad Barron quipped "After the second incident, Rich was getting kind of testy, but once he fully recovered in the third period, we knew we had this game in the bag."