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Sabres Chris Drury: Great Hockey Player, Even Better Friend The Sabres co-captain always has a paralyzed college teammate on his mind. Buffalo, NY -- In October of 1995, Chris Drury was starting his second season with the defending NCAA champion Boston University hockey team. One of his linemates for the first game of that season was a top freshman recruit, Travis Roy. In Roy's very first shift on the ice, he made a check and crashed head-first into the boards. The impact of the hit left Roy paralyzed; his college career over in his first 11 seconds, his life changed forever. Chris Drury was about ten feet away from Roy when it happened. "I was behind the net, I had my back to the play, I just heard it, all I heard was a loud bang." Although the accident broke Roy's neck, it wasn't able to break the friendship between him and Drury. "There's always been a bond of some sort," Roy says. "I can't put my finger on it, I just really look up to Chris." Says Drury, "I don't stay in touch with him because he's in a wheelchair, I stay in touch with him because he's a good guy." Drury has done a lot more than just stay in touch with Roy. Each summer for the past ten years, he's hosted a golf tournament that's raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for Roy and his foundation. And when Drury won the Stanley Cup with Colorado five years ago, he made sure that Roy was part of the private party he had for family and close friends when he brought the cup home for a day. "It was special for me, it was special for him," says Drury. "Being able to win it with him in the back of my mind, and make sure he got a close up look at it was great." Now, both Drury and Roy are hoping history repeats itself as Drury leads the Sabres on the quest for organization's first cup. WGRZ Maila Rible , Web Producer created: 5/11/2006 5:59:20 PM Last updated: 5/12/2006 2:35:18 PM
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