John Kerry, on the right wing, breaks nose

By Bryan Bender, Globe Staff

WASHINGTON -- The secret is out: John Kerry is a right winger.

The Globe uncovered the news after inquiring why Kerry was sporting two nasty black eyes today at a White House ceremony in which President Obama feted the Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins.

It turns out he got whacked playing hockey. And his sporting position might come as a surprise to the constituents who elected the senior Democrat from Massachusetts to his fifth term in 2008.

Kerry’s office said the pair of shiners were the result of a busted nose that the 68-year-old politico sustained on the ice when he was smacked in the face with a hockey stick during a game with friends and family over the holidays.

“A broken nose, two black eyes,” his spokeswoman Whitney Smith confirmed in an e-mail.

Of course she couldn’t resist taking her own partisan slapshot in this highly competitive political season.

“He must feel like Mitt Romney after South Carolina,” she quipped, referring to the former Bay State governor and now-embattled GOP presidential contender.

Kerry is apparently used to the rough stuff. He has been playing the sport for decades, Smith said, including as a veteran member of the Congressional Hockey Challenge, a charity event to benefit the Fort Dupont Hockey Club in Washington.

Here’s his stats, according to the organization’s website, including the position he normally fills:

Senator John Kerry (D-MA) - 01 - Forward / Right Wing

Height: 6’4”

Hometown: Boston, MA

College: Yale University

Employer: Constituents of the State of Massachusetts

Favorite NHL Team: Boston Bruins

Favorite band from the 70’s or 80’s: Rolling Stones

What was your first job: Campaign volunteer for Ted Kennedy

When queried by the Globe, however, Kerry declined to identify who exactly was the culprit of the high-stick violation that resulted in his injuries or the player’s partisan proclivities. Nor whether the player spent any time in the penalty box.