Benilde-St. Margaret's sophomore Jack Jablonski, whose return from a paralyzing injury gave his hockey teammates a lift in the section finals, is expected to attend Thursday's Class 2A state tournament quarterfinal game.

A school official said earlier Thursday that he might miss the game because of the flu, which kept him from attending a state tournament banquet on Wednesday.

“He’s feeling much better today. He totally plans on being there with his team,’’ his mother, Leslie, said Thursday afternoon.

Jablonski suffered a spinal cord injury in a junior varsity game on Dec. 30. He drove his motorized wheelchair onto the ice after the Section 6 championship game against Minnetonka and transported the section title trophy off the ice.

The Red Knights, playing in their first state tournament in four years, will play No. 4 seed Edina at 8 p.m.