By NEAL WAGNER / City Editor

A University of Alabama Frozen Tide hockey player is “moving in the right direction” after he was hit by a truck while riding his bicycle in Tuscaloosa on Sept. 11.

During a Sept. 16 Pelham City Council meeting, Mayor Gary Waters said 23-year-old UA hockey player James Alexander Gutierrez was improving, and is expected to eventually make a full recovery.

The Frozen Tide plays its home games at the Pelham Civic Complex.

“They think he will eventually return to the ice,” Waters said.

Gutierrez was struck by a truck while riding his bicycle on Hackberry Lane in Tuscaloosa on Sept. 11, according to the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff’s Office.

On Sept. 17, Frozen Tide head coach Mike Quenneville said Gutierrez was still listed in critical condition at DCH Regional Medical Center, but was improving.

“He’s got a long road ahead,” Quenneville said. “We are all thankful. He’s got a lot of people praying for him.”