Hockey's Future on Bina

In case you haven't seen this over on the LetsGoDUHockeyBlog this is nice piece on former Fighting Sioux defensive star Robbie Bina.

Bina ready to start pro career
Written by: Guy Flaming on 09/06/2008
Three seasons after an injury nearly ended his hockey career, defenseman Robbie Bina is about to realize his boyhood dream of becoming a professional hockey player.

Born and raised in the hockey Mecca of Grand Forks, North Dakota, there was really never any doubt what he was going to do with his life nor was there a question that the University of North Dakota was going to be a part of it.

The diminutive blueliner will be long remembered by Fighting Sioux faithful. One reason would be his now legendary shorthanded goal against archrival Minnesota on Jan. 27, 2007 which he launched from deep in his own end and bounced past the goaltender.

The other reason is for his amazing return to the game after suffering a broken neck in his sophomore year.

It happened on March 18, 2005 during the WCHA Conference Playoffs against another heated rival, the Denver Pioneers. During the second period of their semi-final clash, with the Sioux about to be called for a penalty, the game took a decidedly ugly turn.

“The puck was coming around [the boards], it was a delayed penalty and I just went to touch it to get the whistle and then he kind of hit me from behind and I just went in head first and that’s about it I guess,” said Bina.

The Pioneers won the game and advanced to the Finals, but center Geoff Paukovich (EDM) was suspended by the WCHA after reviewing the hit. Denver would go on to capture the NCAA National Title that year with a 4-1 win over the Bina-less UND squad in the championship game.

Bina missed the rest of his sophomore year as well as the following campaign, but what could have ended as a tragic hockey story eventual became one of inspiration.

Despite the severity of the injury, including a crushed C-7 vertebrae, Bina says the early concerns that his hockey career was over were short lived.

“Just maybe the first couple of days when I found out how bad it was,” he admitted. “I talked to the doctor every day and he really made it sound like everything would be fine after the surgery and that I should take the year off and just go from there.”

So that’s what he did. Bina would spend the next year and a half wearing a neck brace, going through a long and arduous rehab schedule but never taking his eye off the goal. He knew there was a light at the end of the tunnel, just not how long that tunnel would last.

Through it all his teammates said he was always encouraging them, cheering them on from the stands and seldom seen without a smile. As it turns out, that was all part of Bina’s plan too.

“I wanted to keep my spirits up for me and for my team so that they didn’t have to worry about anything,” he explained. “It was [beneficial] mentally for me too, staying positive and trying to get ready to go.

Nineteen months later on Oct. 1, 2006 Bina made his triumphant return to the ice during an exhibition game against the visiting University of Manitoba Bisons (CIS). You can imagine what that night meant for Bina, his teammates and for the Sioux supporters as well.
(Read the rest of the article right here)