“When the crowd yells that ‘Red,’ it is so loud that you want to be out there,” said the Engineers’ senior captian, who is out this season rehabilitating from his successful fight with testicular cancer.

MacDonald might have also been yearning to hit the ice for another reason, to relive the last Freakout! which ended with Houston Field House in a riot after the forward fired a top-shelf laser with 8.3 seconds left in the third period, to give RPI the 3-2 win over Brown.

“Other than winning a championship, that is probably one of the best things you could do as an RPI player, win a Freakout!,” MacDonald said of his heroics a year ago. “To be honest, I didn’t even see the puck go in the net. When I shot it, the d-man was right in my face. When I was coming up, I looked at the guy, and thought this is going in, no matter what. I don’t remember a few seconds after that. It was just kind of bananas.”

MacDonald, who has the highlight clip of his goal bookmarked at http://www.uscho.com/video/, sometimes revisits his heroics, not in an effort to relive his glory days, but to build new ones. The Victoria, B.C., native often uses the film to fuel his motivational flame as he continues his grueling rehab program.

“Sometimes, when I’m feeling tired, I’ll pop it in,” MacDonald admitted. “After, I always find myself thinking, ‘Yeah I want to do that again.’”

He is certainly on his way there. The Engineers’ 2004-2005 leader in goals and assists is officially back to 100 percent from a health perspective and is putting himself through a daily grind of swimming, skating, and lifting in order to return to his original form on the ice.

Currently MacDonald hopes to return to the bruising, power forward he was before his illness, but is hopeful that he might be able to become add some additional speed to his game assuming he completes his progression properly. MacDonald insists he could rejoin the Engineers for practice, but NCAA Rules under the provision of his medical red shirt prevent him from participating with the team during official practices.

This a big step for a player who was initially was forced to wear nothing but sweatpants after losing so much weight that even his belts were too large to hold his jeans up. Now MacDonald stands just 20 pounds below his listed weight prior to last season of 210 pounds.

And returning to Troy late last semester bolstered the forward’s recovery, both mentally and physically.

“It’s pretty awesome,” MacDonald said of getting back to campus.” [It] helped me in the recovery process because at home you’re just by yourself sitting on the couch. It can be kind of depressing. But now I have something to do everyday, getting up and going to the rink and working out, and being back in school has just help things mentally.”

The reunification with his teammates was another element thought has allowed Kirk to battle through his struggles and keep smiling through the frustration. “The support from the guys has been awesome, “MacDonald said. They welcomed me back, but more importantly they treating me normal. When I came back I was a rail and they treated me like I was the same guy. It helps to know that no matter what you are part of the team. You are always welcome, always part of something, and that gives you something to work for.”

Of course being back with his teammates has caused MacDonald one lingering disappointment: His inability to join them on the ice. His anxiousness grows everyday and hit a relative peak when the team suffered so many injuries, and as Freakout! approached. MacDonald admitted he could never imagine the day when all three captains, senior forward Kevin Croxton, senior defenseman Brad Farynuk, and himself were all at home for a road trip.

MacDonald’s participation in the alumni game, although it was a non-contact affair, further solidified his personal belief that he can get back to the ice with his teammates.

“It sucks more and more everyday,” MacDonald said. “I played in the alumni game and ripped a couple real good shots and I started thinking, ‘I can play tonight.’ When I first got back, I was just happy to be here, but now when I’m watching the games I keep thinking, ‘I can do that.’”

For now MacDonald has had to settle for his view from the sideline, but that has not stopped him from impacting the team or Houston Field House. The season long balding fundraiser, which was left all the Engineers wearing hats, raised close to $7,000 for the Lance Armstrong Foundation prior to this past weekend. The culmination of the charity effort occurred this weekend with the shaving of both MacDonald’s and Croxton’s head and the raffling of auction of a Washington Capitals jersey signed by all the Washington players, among other small prizes. The team had planned on concluding the effort at Freakout! and were hoping to double their current holdings.

MacDonald had little trouble shaving his head, despite having recently lost his hair during chemotherapy, but Croxton was reluctant to let go of his flowing locks.