Nottingham Panthers’ Kevin Domingue has had a mixed season since signing from the Tulsa Oilers at the start of this season.
Domingue has been in and out of the Panthers side with injuries which has kept him from getting some good momentum going.
The right-winger says he’s finally starting to feel like himself again in a recent interview, saying: “It’s been a rollercoaster of a year for me, on and off the ice, so it feels good to be on the ice and feel myself a bit more.”
He continued: “I haven’t felt like that for the longest time at least this year, physically or mentally.”
After getting injured then re-injuring himself Domingue faced some tough moments.
He credits the backroom staff and physios for getting him back saying they were the boss during his injury.
“It’s definitely a group success right now, it’s Pete it’s Laura, Owen, Ryan, all those people that have been helping me come back on the ice.”
“It’s stupid to say that a goal can do that mentally.”
Having now skated over the weekend and helping his side to a four-pointer including a big assist he seems to be back.
A goal against Guildford the previous weekend helped him relieve some of the pressure, he said: “When I scored that goal there was a little bit of a breath out like ‘alright’, it’s stupid to say that a goal can do that mentally, but it’s part of the game.”
He also helped his side to a 3-0 shutout of rivals Sheffield Steelers who had just agreed a new deal for the Utilita Arena.
An assist for Kevin Massy’s 16 second goal proved to be the start of an impressive victory for the Panthers.
They rounded out the weekend with an overtime win against Glasgow Clan thanks to a Jeremy Walsh goal after just over a minute.
They now face Belfast Giants twice on home ice in a tough double headed away fixture.
Domingue said of these two games: “We have to step up, especially games like that, road trip like that, against Sheffield it was very positive, but now we have to do that against other teams, so it’s going to be good challenge this weekend for sure.”
He continued: “It’s all a question of proving we can do it and showing our confidence on the ice and putting it to work.”
