Gophers: Brad Frost returns to bench after surgery to remove kidney stones
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Brad Frost came to his weekly news conference with a smile, drinking a bottled water and happy to be back on his feet talking about his University of Minnesota women's hockey team.
He spent most of last week either in an emergency room, or doubled over on a bathroom floor. The team announced last Thursday he would miss the Gophers’ series at Bemidji State, a sweep with 2-0 and 3-1 wins, due to a "medical situation," but that he was expected to return this week. Frost said Wednesday he had surgery to remove kidney stones.
"I feel great. I did not feel so good last week. First time in 17 years missing a game, kept thinking I’d be able to make it and eventually had a little surgery and wasn’t able to get there. But feeling good now," Frost said.
He thought he might be out of the woods after having the procedure last Wednesday. He knew by Thursday he’d be watching from home instead of on the bench.
"It was tough, it was really hard. Obviously in communication with our staff all week, they have a ton of responsibility week in and week out, so it wasn’t that big of a deal," Frost said. "Other than me not being on the bench, but it’s hard watching."
Frost joked that the medical situation was likely caused after getting swept by Ohio State by a combined score of 13-1 the week before. That was also after seeing a social media post of former players Kelly Pannek and Taylor Heise wearing Ohio State gear into Xcel Energy Center for a Minnesota PWHL game.
"I was on a bathroom floor at that time. Saw that picture and it didn't help," Frost joked.
The Gophers got the road sweep of the Beavers to improve to 18-5-1 on the season, and 12-5-1 in the WCHA. It was a critical two wins to get after a rough weekend against the Buckeyes as they now host Minnesota State-Mankato this weekend.
"It’s two wins on the road against a team that always plays us tough, especially at their place. Those six points were huge, get back in the win column, put those in the bank and now we just continue to go and it gets tougher the rest of the way," Frost said.
After MSU-Mankato, the Gophers have series against St. Thomas, St. Cloud State, Wisconsin and Minnesota-Duluth to close out the WCHA regular season.