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After Barry Goers underwent hip surgery in November, there were questions whether he would be able to make it back at all this season.

But Goers never had a doubt.

The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton defenseman suffered the injury during the preseason and tried to let the ailment heal but to no avail. Surgery put Goers on the shelf long-term, but he salvaged his season with a return to the lineup on Friday against Lehigh Valley.

“I knew I had to play this year. I knew I could make it back even ahead of when people thought I could because I believe in my work ethic and my ability to come back,” Goers said after Tuesday’s practice at the Mohegan Sun Arena.

With two games under his belt, Goers acknowledged it will take some time to get back to 100 percent.

But at least he’s back.

“I feel like myself again,” he said. “It’s nice not to have the hip pain.”

Now in his sixth pro season, and third with the Penguins, Goers provides a steadying influence on the blueline.

And some much-needed depth.

Head coach Clark Donatelli praised Goers for his ability to move the puck out of the defensive zone, manage things on the ice and bring leadership to the room.

“He’s a big piece of the puzzle going forward and he really strengthens our D corps,” Donatelli said.

As he gets better, Goers admitted there was a big mental hurdle he had to clear in his first two games back. It’s a question that every player coming back from an injury faces: How will the injury hold up under game conditions?

“The longer you go without playing the more you’re concerned about how it’s going to be,” Goers said. “You just go for one shift at a time, take some checks and throw your body around a little bit and as the game goes on you settle in a little more.”

NOTES

– During his two games this weekend, Goers got his first taste of the new system implemented by former coach Mike Sullivan and carried on by Donatelli. “Our systems have definitely changed from (former coach John) Hynes to now. I think both systems work well. They both have their pros and cons. I like the way we’re playing right now,” he said.

– On the injury front, Donatelli said F Sahir Gill is out long-term with a lower body injury, F Oskar Sundqvist could be upgraded to day-to-day in the near future and D Niclas Andersen didn’t practice due to illness. F Tyler Biggs also sat out after experiencing concussion-like symptoms resulting from a hit he sustained on Sunday against Hershey.

Donatelli called the hit by Hershey’s Garrett Mitchell questionable. He was suspended by the AHL for three games on Tuesday.

“It’s a hit that I think the league doesn’t want in the game because he’s in a vulnerable position,” Donatelli said. “There was head contact. The initial shot got him high and followed through with the head. It was questionable in our eyes for sure.”

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By Tom Venesky

[email protected]

Up next…

Lehigh Valley Phantoms (27-28-2-3, .492, 7th place in the Atlantic Division) at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (35-19-4-1, .636, 2nd place in the Atlantic Division)

Wednesday, 7:05 p.m. at the Mohegan Sun Arena

Listen live on 103.1FM-WILK

Players to watch:

Lehigh Valley – Petr Straka has the only Phantoms goal in the last two games.

Penguins – Carter Rowney has 10 goals and 17 points in his last 15 games.

Reach Tom Venesky at 570-991-6395 or on Twitter @TLTomVenesky