It was a familiar experience for MSU senior forward David Booth when he came back to the bench wincing in pain after a collision in an Oct. 14 exhibition game against Western Ontario.
What resulted was a shoulder injury that kept the Washington, Mich., native out of the lineup for nine games leaving MSU head coach Rick Comley with the option of granting Booth a medical redshirt for the season.
But rather than sit out for the remainder of the season, Booth made his return in a 3-3 tie with Western Michigan on Nov. 18, although he was limited in what he could do.
Since then, the power forward has steadily improved — physically and conditionally — with each game he's played.
"He's missed so much time," Comley said. "The darn injuries the last couple years have really slowed his growth down, and now he's getting games in consecutive fashion and I think he's responding very well to that."
Booth, a 2004 draft pick of the Florida Panthers, has been receiving more time playing the point on the power play and is currently riding a nine-game point streak — the longest of his collegiate career and the longest for any Spartan this season.
Booth has netted several goals this season playing the point with the man advantage, and while Comley's concern is in Booth's defensive abilities, Booth hasn't lacked the timely offensive spark.
"You get to see the whole ice," Booth said. "You have to read it a little bit more. You get to shoot the puck more, which I like and you get to break out."
Booth was promoted to first-line center last week, skating between junior captain Drew Miller and sophomore forward Jim McKenzie. The move resulted in a goal and two assists in last weekend's sweep of Notre Dame.
"He's so fast," Miller said. "He gets that puck, and he just flies with it."
Booth attributes his successes to finding a rhythm of consecutive games.
"I don't think I've played this many games since freshman year," he said.
After recording 36 points in 39 games as a freshman, the future looked promising for the 6-foot-1, 209 pounder. The injury bug had other ideas, however, and allowed him to play in only 30 games as a sophomore and 29 games as a junior.
Now in his final year as a Spartan, Booth boasts a current point total of 23.
Despite being aggravated by injuries in the past, Booth's second wind this season has given him a renewed sense of confidence.
"You just got to stay positive and start to believe you can do something," he said. "If your mind is right, then you'll start to do it. I've just been trying to stay positive with everything I'm doing, and it seems like it's working."
