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Craig Cunningham watches Tucson Roadrunners teammates win after surprise visit

Sean Leahy
·Contributing writer
Roadrunners
Roadrunners

Tucson Roadrunners captain Craig Cunningham was back at Tucson Arena Saturday and watched his teammates score three times in the opening period en route to a 3-2 win over the Texas Stars.

Cunningham, who suffered cardiac arrest on the ice during warm-ups before a Nov. 19 game, surprised his teammates with the visit, giving them a bit of an extra boost.

“We didn’t know that he was coming in, so it was pretty cool to see him in here,” said Christian Fischer via the Roadrunners website. “I think anytime we see him in here, our spirits are pretty high just to see him smile. It was nice to be able to give him a little tribute too. He’s stuck with it all of the way, it’s amazing to see this comeback that he’s came from. When he’s here, that definitely lifts our spirits and gives us a little more energy. We played for him tonight.”

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After spending a little over a month in the hospital, Cunningham was discharged to a rehab center where he’s working on getting used to living without part of his lower left leg, which was amputated out of fear of infection.

At a news conference just before Christmas, Cunningham said he didn’t remember anything from that night and was ready for the challenge that lay ahead, which includes skating again and potentially working for an NHL team.

Roadrunners head coach Mark Lamb summed up what Cunningham’s presence meant for the team.

“It was great coming into the room like we always do at the eight-minute mark before the game, and he was there sitting in his stall, it was great to see him there, it was just too bad we couldn’t start him,” he said.

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Sean Leahy is the associate editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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