Riley Barber’s last major injury was in March 2015. An MCL tear sidelined the winger for the end of his college career. While he had the entire offseason to recover with that injury, his most recent injury, one to his right hand, has placed him out of the line-up mid-season for the first time. “It’s way different,” said Barber. “You’re around the team, but you’re not really a part of it. It’s been hard, but I’m excited to get back.”

While Barber won’t play Friday night in Wilkes-Barre, his return comes at a good time as Hershey lost Nathan Walker to injury and Zach Sanford to recall in the past two weeks. “It’s much more manageable at 13 forwards than it is a 14,” head coach Troy Mann said. “The fact that we’re winning to doesn’t help things in terms of putting guys in.

“It’s like adding a player at the trade deadline. We’re in the middle of February now and he’s been out practically the whole season.”

After scoring eight points in the first 13 games of the season, Barber has missed 34 games since his injury on November 13. “I’ve had more time to train than all summer,” said Barber. “I just can’t wait to get back out there. I’ve been training for 12 weeks and guys on the team are getting run down. I have had a lot of rest to get the body back to where it was before.”

“He’s a good 200-foot player that can score for us and defend,” said Mann. “We just got to make sure we’re doing the right things for him as well.”