SACO — Four months ago, Massabesic/Old Orchard Beach hockey player Jordan Levesque was driving home from a friends house on Federal Street in Waterboro.

Slick roads made driving difficult, and Levesque’s car ran off the road.

He doesn’t remember anything that happened after.

“None,” Levesque said. “I lost memory for three days.”

Levesque wrecked his car and an ambulance rushed him to the hospital, where doctors had to perform an emergency splenectomy. In the human body, the spleen acts as a blood filter, removing old red blood cells and creating new cells. It is also used to fight against bacteria.

Doctors did not give Levesque a very good early prognosis after surgery.

“At the beginning, they told me I was never going to play sports again,” Levesque said.

However, three weeks ago, doctors gave Levesque a clean bill of health, and let him resume his hockey career with the Mustangs.

Levesque returned to the ice last Saturday in an 8-1 over Mt. Ararat. Levesque scored a goal and added an assist.

“It’s good, it’s feeling good out there, the skates are under me finally,” Levesque said.

Massabesic/OOB head coach Dave Pasquarello said he did not expect to see Levesque, a junior forward and captain on last season’s squad, back on the ice.

“He’s lucky to be alive,” Pasquarello said. “When I went to the hospital, it was scary. I don’t like hospitals anyway, but to see one of your players there with tubes coming out everywhere, to see a picture of the car, it was frightening, being a dad and having three kids. The coaching staff thought he would be out for the season. It could have been even longer than that. So for him to come back to us, we were pleasantly surprised and concerned at the same time.”

Conferring with Massabesic athletic director Tim Spear along with the school trainers and doctors, Pasquarello and his coaching staff developed a system for easing Levesque back into his routine.

“We’re not physicians, so we didn’t understand the injury, really,” Pasquarello said. “With the help of Tim Spear, our trainer and physicians, we put a gradual game plan together for him. He started with baby steps. First, let’s skate. Then, a little conditioning. Then skate with equipment on. It took about a month long process, but he was itching to go. He’s a competitor, he’s a junior, he was one of our captains last year. We saved him a spot on the roster and saved his jersey number, and it’s good to have him back.”

Pasquarello said the players have also welcomed Levesque back.

“They love it, they admire his persistance, his dedication and they know how bad he wants to be on the team,” Pasquarello said. “So it’s good to have him back, and the team feels the same way.”

Mark Levesque, Jordan’s dad, watched his son skate during the Mustangs 3-2 win over Bonny Eagle Thursday night at the MHG Ice Centre in Saco. He said he was glad to see his son getting back to what he loves to do.

“He came a long ways,” Mark Levesque said. “After talking with doctors a lot, they said after a certain time, you’re all set and ready to go. It feels good seeing him out there for a change.”

Mark Levesque said he does worry about possible injuries in the future.

“You’re always going to worry as a parent,” Levesque said. “If it’s going to happen, it’s going to happen, that’s the way you’ve got to look at it. I look at that as a matter of what sport he plays. No matter if he didn’t get hurt or got hurt. But I look at it as, if it’s going to happen, it’s going to happen. He’s a smart kid, he knows how to play the game. You’ve got to trust him.

Jordan Levesque said plans to take advantage of having the chance to play hockey again.

“It wasn’t a great experience, but it’s life changing, definitely. I’m just really glad to be back on the ice.”

Between the Pipes”¦

Massabesic defeated Bonny Eagle 3-2 Thursday night at the MHG Ice Centre in Saco. The Mustangs were led by sophomore forward Greg Lodge, who scored a hat trick, giving him 15 goals on the season. Tyler Albert, the leading goal scorer in Maine Class A hockey, also added a goal to raise his total to 23 goals on the season.

The Mustangs host Noble High School on Saturday.