Bears' Hlinka lost with a broken ankle

Shortly after Mathieu Darche described the med school cadaver his brother, Jean-Philippe, used to have at Montreal's McGill University, Martin Hlinka limped down a Giant Center hallway yesterday.

Gritty Hlinka certainly isn't a cadaver, but it's understandable if he's beginning to feel like a lab experiment.

The centerman, who missed 10 games earlier this season with a shoulder injury, will be out for a month with a broken left ankle suffered while blocking a shot on the penalty kill Saturday against Philadelphia.

"It was a hard shot, but it wasn't a blast," Hlinka said. "I tried to stop it, laid in front of it, it hit me in the right spot."

Hlinka climbed back into the AHL last season with Hershey after missing the entire 2002-03 season with an abdominal injury.

"It just keeps coming," Hlinka said of the injuries. "That's the way I play. I would do the same thing again."

Hlinka's playing status wasn't the only news on a busy day at Giant Center. Hershey assigned defenseman Mikko Viitanen and left winger Frantisek Skladany to Quad City (UHL) and brought in defenseman Trevor Johnson from Peoria (ECHL) and centerman Graig Mischler from Reading (ECHL).

The Viitanen-Skladany assignments are an acknowledgment by the Colorado Avalanche that two of their prospects aren't ready for the AHL.

Rookie Skladany had no points in 15 games. He was a healthy scratch the last three games.

"Frantisek needs to play more minutes," Bears head coach Paul Fixter said.

"I haven't been in a position to play him as much as I would have liked to and certainly as much as he would have liked to."

Viitanen had one assist in 19 games and was minus-1. The second-year pro played 20 games at the start of last season for Hershey before getting shipped to Reading (ECHL).

"Mikko needs to work on different facets of his game and build his confidence back up," Fixter said, "and hopefully put himself into a position to help this team out in the future."

Third-year pro Johnson (5-10, 177), who had eight points in 13 games with Peoria, hasn't played above Double-A. Mischler (6-3, 195), who scored 22 goals in 132 games for the Cleveland Barons from 2001-03, had three goals and eight assists in 14 games with Reading.

Defenseman Martin Wilde, who made his Hershey debut Saturday after being called up from Reading, will be staying for now.

"He certainly played well the other night," Fixter said. "I was very happy with him. I thought he had a good camp. Sometimes, things have to shake themselves out. He'll be making the road trip [starting tomorrow at Albany] with us. Beyond that, who knows?"

Versatile, steady Hlinka, who had five points in 10 games, won't be riding with the team for a while.

"He's a guy I could rely on and depend on," said Fixter, whose 7-12-1-0 team plays its next five on the road.

"Quite honestly, there is no woe is me around here. I talked to the guys today about opportunity and others raising their level of play."

NOTES: Decisions remain on whether Jamie Rivers (upper body) and Agris Saviels (leg) will make the trip. ... Marek Svatos didn't practice but is expected to play tomorrow at Albany. ... Tomas Slovak, who declined to report to Quad City when assigned by Hershey on Nov. 3, is playing for his hometown Kosice team in Slovakia.

TIM LEONE: 255-8413 or tleone@patriot-news.com