Every athlete likely has had to show some level of perseverance during their playing careers and North Battleford's Fraser Allan has been all but too familiar with that tactic during his university hockey career.
Allan has gone under the knife five times to repair his ailing knee problems and this season, the senior defenceman was forced to miss his team's first three games. Allan returned to the lineup weeks ahead of schedule and since returning to the lineup Oct. 29, 2010 he helped the Warriors make it to the NCAA Division I Championship bracket, meaning Merrimack was one of the final 16 teams standing in the nation.
Merrimack played Notre Dame in a sweet 16 matchup and lost 4-3 in overtime last weekend. The reports from the game suggested Merrimack was the better team and perhaps desired a better fate for most of the night, but some lucky breaks and persistence moved the Fighting Irish forward to the elite eight. The next night, Notre Dame downed New Hampshire 2-1 and Thursday, they played Minnesota Duluth in the semi final.
The Merrimack season ended, not as a season full of what ifs, but one with a sense of accomplishment. Allan was part of Merrimack's best hockey season in the school's history. Merrimack had a 25-10-4 record, the best in 18 years, and for the first time was ranked nationally and made it further than any other Merrimack team.
Coach Mark Dennehy explained after the loss that had it not been for the seven seniors the season successes never would have happened and that he was not looking forward to the end of the 2010-11 Merrimack Warriors' season.
The players, those seven seniors especially, are left wondering what the future brings. Days before taking to the ice against Notre Dame, Allan confirmed he was unsure as to what his future would be of. Although he said there had been some interest from professional or semi-pro leagues he now has to weigh his options and evaluate his health. If he chooses to further pursue hockey, hopefully a door will open like the one at Merrimack.
Dennehy contacted Allan in July following his final season with the Battlefords North Stars and after other schools pulled out of recruiting him because of the knee problems. Dennehy gave him a chance and never regretted it.
Allan played 119 games with Merrimack over four seasons and had seven goals and 30 assists while being a cornerstone of the defensive unit and a physical player at 61?, 205 pounds. Following the 2007-08 season Allan was named Merrimack's Rookie of the Year. He was also twice named to the Hockey East All-Academic team, a runner up for Hockey East defensive player of the month a winner of Hockey East defensive player of the week once and named to the UConn Classic all-tournament team during his first three seasons with the Warriors.
