St. Lawrence University men's hockey captain Kyle Flanagan will miss at least this weekend's final regular season series with ECAC rivals Union and Rensselaer after a successful appendectomy Tuesday afternoon.

Flanagan, a Hobey Baker Award candidate and one of the leaders in assists and scoring both nationally and in the ECAC, hopes to return to action for the start of the playoffs. He was released from the hospital late Wednesday morning and will recuperate at home. He said he will be with the team in spirit for the upcoming weekend and is hoping for a quick return to the lineup.

The Saints, currently third in the ECAC standings, play at Union on Friday and at Rensselaer on Saturday. They are two points up on Union and one point behind second place RPI in the standings with the top four teams in the final league standings earning a first-round playoff bye.

"This is an unfortunate situation for both Kyle and our team at this point in the season," said Saint coach Greg Carvel. "We are fighting for a top four finish in the ECAC and will sorely miss his presence as we battle on the road this weekend.

"Kyle is our captain and leader in so many different ways...but we have a team that has a ton of character and I have no doubt that these circumstances will bring the best out of our group. I feel most badly for Kyle as he is a legitimate candidate to win the Hobey Baker and this might have some impact on his candidacy. Once we begin our playoffs we expect that he will be back playing with us," Carvel added.

Flanagan has established career highs in goals, assists and points in his senior season and is seventh all-time in assists and tied for 14th in points in Saint program history.