Utah Hockey Club netminder Connor Ingram has been out of the lineup since mid-November with what the team reported as an upper-body injury. It turns out there was more to the almost two-month absence. Ingram confirmed on Friday to the Salt Lake Tribune’s Belle Fraser that his mother passed away in December and he has taken time to grieve ever since.
“At the end of November I asked for time off. My mom was really sick and then my mom passed away December 3rd. I was at home until the 13th, 14th,” Ingram said. “I took time off to grieve. I wasn’t handling it well. That’s why I was gone.” Ingram emphasized the support that he has received from the organization during such a difficult time.
“The team donated a bunch of money and things like that to our small town ambulance and the cancer center in Saskatoon. Everyone around here has been fantastic.” Ingram was reactivated on Thursday after a nine-day conditioning stint with the AHL Tuscon Roadrunners. He started one game for them in that period, helping boost the Roadrunners to a 4-1 win on Wednesday night where he made 29 saves.
Ingram last practiced with Utah HC in Colorado on Dec. 12, with head coach André Tourigny explaining it was an opportunity to assess Ingram’s progress in his recovery. It was determined that he wasn’t ready to return at that time.
He has appeared in 13 NHL games this season, posting a 6-4-3 record, a 3.61 goals-against average, and an .871 save percentage. In Ingram’s stead, Jaxson Stauber was called up from Tucson after the November injury. He has been reassigned to the Roadrunners. Stauber appeared in four games, earning two wins and recording the franchise’s first shutout. For what it’s worth, Stauber’s performance stood out, with above-average numbers across nearly every category, demonstrating that he may be NHL-ready rather than suited for the AHL.
Utah HC management has discovered it has some flexibility in the goaltending depth with reliable coverage should anything happen to either Ingram or backup Karel Vejmelka. With Utah HC set for back-to-back games on Friday and Saturday, his return to game action could be imminent. Utah HC has lost six of its last eight games and has slipped to third-to-last in the Central Division standings.
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