-- [ From: Adam Wodon * EMC.Ver #2.10P ] --
 
Please try to excuse this incredible bit of self-indulgence, but I
thought some people would like to see the below article I wrote.  I
asked Mike Machnik, and he gave his blessing to send it.
   I've been frustrated in an attempt to get anyone else to pick it up,
so I figured someone out there would like to read it.  If sending this
bothers you in some way, just delete now.  And if anyone wants to
critique it, good or bad, feel free.
   Thanks.
 
AW
 
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         ALBANY (N.Y.) _ Travis Roy's appearance in the Boston
University locker room before the Terriers' Eastern Regional playoff
game against Clarkson on Saturday was, at once, amazing, gut-wrenching
and inspirational.
 
         But Roy and the BU players had to make sure it didn't get too
emotional. There was still a game to play.
 
         "I was in the locker room before the game and I had to duck
out early," said Roy, speaking to the media in person for the first
time since the accident that left him paralyzed from the neck down over
five months ago. "I didn't want the team in tears like I was. Being
away was easier, but this is part of what I wanted."
 
        Exactly what Roy and the BU players spoke about, no one knows
but those who were there.
 
        "It's between the team and me. It was very moving," Roy said.
 
        "I wanted to say some things in the locker room, but I couldn't
quite get it out. So I was talking from more of a coach's perspective."
 
        Head coach Jack Parker was more than happy to relinquish the
reigns for a few moments. He's the man who helped fulfill Roy's dream
of playing for the Terriers, a dream that culminated five months ago.
 
        Roy, a BU freshman, made the lineup for BU's first game of the
year, October 20 against North Dakota. But just 11 seconds into his
first shift, and moments after the Terriers raised the 1995 National
Championship banner, Roy missed a check, hit his head into the boards,
and fractured the fourth vertebrae in his spine.
 
        After months of rehabilitation, and many setbacks, Roy is now
able to breathe on his own and flex his biceps, which has enabled him
to go from a breath-controlled wheelchair to one operated with a
joystick. His strength, however, is still low, and he joked about being
too tired to yell and scream while cheering on the Terriers.
 
        Travelling is still difficult for other reasons, too.
 
        "Albany [Airport] is quite unprepared for [handicapped
equipment]," said Travis' father, Lee Roy. "They still drive that truck
up with the stairs and you have to walk down. They had two burly guys
pick him up. I told Travis, 'I know there's one thing you won't be
doing, at least for a while, is walking down stairs.'"
 
        Roy continues to rehab at the Sheperd Center in Atlanta, a
facility that specializes in spinal cord injuries. The outpouring,
which has helped fund his rehabilitation, has been overwhelming at
times.
 
        "The support I've had ... the hockey community and families,
everyone's in it for the right reasons," said Roy, whose poise and
tolerance of the attention were praiseworthy. "They want to win. That's
how I always was. There's a tightness in hockey players and their
families."
 
        After his team's win, Parker, who was instrumental in rallying
the hockey community to support Roy, spoke of the poignant moment in
the locker room.
 
        "It was a wonderful day to have him here," said Parker. "It was
great for the team to see him, but I think it was even more important
for Travis to be with the guys again."
 
        Of course, Roy has been with the team, in effect, all season.
His No. 24 jersey hangs behind the team's bench during games, and
players that still consider him a teammate carry his jersey through the
postgame handshake.
 
        After speaking for 10 minutes between the first and second
periods, Roy got back to his seat to watch the rest of the Terriers'
win. Afterwards, Roy got to witness that warm, postgame gesture for the
first time since the injury.
 
        Roy hopes to see it again at the Final Four. He made a promise
to Parker early in his rehab that he would make it to Cincinnati if BU
did. His arrival in Albany was a week ahead of schedule.
 
        "I had a talk with one of the ladies at the Sheperd Center,"
Roy said. "She said [that] this is my one weekend pass. I just smiled
and left it at that.
 
        "I'll be there for the championship game."
 
        Lee Roy, who escorted Travis to the press conference, would
love that final to be against Vermont, where he's a member of the
school's Hall of Fame, and was an all-American.
 
        Before BU's game, and after Vermont won the early game to make
the Final Four, Travis took a trip to the Catamounts' locker room as
well.
 
        "[Vermont] Coach [Mike] Gilligan has been very good to me," Roy
said. "I went on a recruiting trip there and was very impressed. I
wanted to congratulate them. I hope to see them in Cincinnati."
 
        Roy, decked out in his Boston University hockey jacket, was as
upbeat as possible on a day that was a triumph for him, but also
incredibly difficult. It marked another step in his growth.
 
        "I was always confident in myself. There's no greater test than
this," said Roy. "I'm glad I can get through it and stay positive. I
see the light and I'll work toward there."
 
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