Apr 7, 2025
By Michael Fornabaio (@fornabaioctp)
Reading and Allentown are just about 40 miles apart in Pennsylvania. For Bridgeport Islanders goalie Tristan Lennox, the journey between them was a 14-month odyssey.
And even after that, he took another – fortunately briefer – detour.
Lennox played his first game in over a year on March 1 in Allentown against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms after an injury cost him most of both his rookie and second professional seasons.
“It’s been a long time I’ve been thinking about it, for as long as I’ve been out,” said Lennox, 22, soon after that first game back, “just wanting to get back in a game situation.”
Lennox was playing for the Worcester Railers, the Islanders’ ECHL affiliate, in a game at Reading on Dec. 15, 2023, his lucky 13th game as a pro.
“I went out behind the net to play a puck, and my leg kind of just, like, buckled on me,” Lennox said. Doctors told him that it’d happen again without a couple of procedures. Rehabilitating, Lennox said, “it was strict. It was hard. I was in the gym every day doing rehab and physical therapy.”
“So it’s been a long time. That’s why it kind of made it special to be back playing the other night.”
His AHL debut was maybe not the one you dream about, a 5-3 Phantoms win in which Lennox made 17 saves, but it was a big step in a young career that took a detour.
“We’ve all been so happy for him, because he has worked so hard and gone through a lot,” Bridgeport head coach Rick Kowalsky said. “He has had some ups and downs where he maybe thought he was close to returning and didn’t.”
Lennox’s second game back from limbo was four days later in Hartford, but another injury took him out of that game after two periods. It cost him another month, but at least it wasn’t directly related to his earlier injury.
“It was definitely frustrating,” he said this week after his second return, “but I had a bunch of great guys to help me stay positive.
“Some things to clean up, and look to clean up, but I felt good overall.”
The physical effort of that initial 14-month rehab was one thing, but then add in the mental challenge of missing over a year’s worth of games, a year’s worth of practice, a year’s worth of being part of a team’s daily routine while grinding through his own new routine.
“It was a long time and a lot of time by yourself,” Lennox said. “I’ve just got to thank the people around me, like my family, trainers and all those people, for keeping me busy.
“And…
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