The determination and a maturity beyond his years were evident in every word Miles McQuinn spoke on Wednesday afternoon.
However, the Wildcats’ gifted junior forward/center and captain couldn’t hide his disappointment when telling this reporter his season has come to an end.
McQuinn, one of the premier players in the state, suffered an injury to his Achilles’ tendon and will be undergoing surgery on Thursday morning at the Cleveland Clinic.
The injury occurred during Sunday’s championship game in the Meadville (Pa.) Bulldog Invitational. Miles said that during a play near the net, a pursuing player from Peters Township (Pa.) apparently got his skate caught in Miles’ skate. After being helped off the ice by Wildcats standout senior forward Liam Geither, Miles removed the skate and saw his blood-drenched sock.
“It went from me needing several stitches to a lot worse,” said McQuinn, who underwent an MRI earlier this week and was preparing for more pre-op therapy on Wednesday afternoon. “But I am confident that I’ll be 100 percent in four to six months.”
Miles, who has been playing the game he loves since he was “3 or 4 years old,” set a Saint Ignatius single-season record last year by scoring 48 goals. This season, he has helped the Wildcats to a remarkable 28-0 record by producing 30 goals and 40 assists.
An outstanding skater and passer whose stick work is amazing, Miles said he is also confident of one other thing – that Coach Pat O’Rourke’s team can still go on and win the state championship without him.
Saint Ignatius, which stands alone in first place in the rugged Red North Division of the Greater Cleveland High School Hockey League, travels to IceLand USA on Friday for a 7 p.m. league game against Strongsville and will be at Quicken Loans Arena on Saturday for a noon face off with Lake Catholic.
"Personally, I feel terribly for Miles - he is so passionate about the sport and it is tough to see hockey taken away from him, hopefully only for a few months," said Coach O'Rourke '90. "We will miss him dearly on and off the ice, though he will be around the team a ton once his surgery is over.
"I was impressed by Miles' perspective," continued O'Rourke. "He immediately mentioned that there are many others out there who have it much tougher than he does. He noted that he only needs to look six stalls down to his left to #23 to keep that in mind. We all know that our friend Jacques DeVilliers is fighting a fierce battle against cancer, and that always puts things in their proper place.
"As far as our team goes, we have had a few days to digest things, and all we can do is come out fighting and try to win this thing for Miles. Players will step up and we will do our best to win a title. We took a big punch to the stomach, but we'll suck it up and get back to work and see what we can do. If anything, maybe this will galvanize us."