For Tim Conboy, a long, trying, emotional and ultimately fulfilling day began Thursday morning at an airport counter in Albany, N.Y.
Conboy, the captain of the Albany River Rats (AHL), was preparing to catch a flight to New York to join the Carolina Hurricanes. A callup, he was to play Thursday night against the New York Islanders.
"I was checking my bags and a lady asked me if I played for the River Rats," Conboy said today. "I said, 'Yeah, why?' She said, 'Well, are you OK?' I said, 'Why?' and she said, 'Because your bus crashed.'
"I said, 'Are you serious?' I thought she had made a mistake. I didn't know if she knew it was the right team."
It was the right team. The River Rats' team bus crashed early Thursday morning in western Massachusetts returning from a game in Lowell, Mass. The bus flipped on its side, and there were several serious injuries, but none life-threatening.
"I started freaking out," Conboy said. "Then I started getting phone calls. My dad and my mom. I called my wife and found out it was true.
"I was in a state of shock. There was a little queasy feeling in my stomach. I couldn't rest easy all day until I found out everyone was OK."
Conboy was serving out the last of a four-game AHL suspension and missed the trip to Lowell. And Thursday night, there was a game to play against the Islanders.
"It was hard to be happy, to be up in the NHL," he said. "The tragedy that had happened with the guys puts everything in perspective.
"I'm just happy everybody made it out OK. I know some guys got some serious injuries but the main thing is that everybody is alive."
Conboy was used at both forward and on defense in the Canes' 6-2 win. Always a physical type, he was in on a fight and almost scored a goal but had it nullified for goaltender interference with the Islanders' Joey MacDonald.
"I thought I had my first goal, but I guess you can't run the goalie over," a smiling Conboy said. "No, it was fun. It was fun being out there again."
A little fun at the end of a hard, tough day.
A Raleigh native, Chip has worked at the N&O since 1979 and is the Canes beat writer. He can be reached at
Comments
re:sutter
Sun, 02/22/2009 - 16:33 — hockey16equalslifei agree with you (hockeydog and esteban1949).. i hope they allow sutter to show what hes got.. it will take a bit.. but only time makes a player great.. and i dont see anything wrong with how sutter started out his first year in the NHL.. no one starts with scoring a million goals... so.. Go Canes!!.. and Sutter, show em what you got and dont let anyone tell you differently!!
Sutter
Fri, 02/20/2009 - 15:53 — HockeydogI have a feeling he was scratched so Mo could have 7 defense men in case Gleasons hand wasn't up to the task.
Not shocking that...
Fri, 02/20/2009 - 15:26 — mokimanoNot shocking that Conboy in the lineup makes the entire Canes team a little more confident and the opposing teams a little more weary of taking cheap shots. Conboy may not be the most talented or bring the skillset of most, but he stands up for his teammates and he is not afraid to ever throw a big hit or drop the gloves when the time calls for it. It's not a fun role to take on but in the times he has been called up to the Canes, he knows his role and he plays it well.
i would agree...
Fri, 02/20/2009 - 13:06 — esteban1949capt. tim should have gotten it...but such is the "business & life" of hockey huh ?? And Brandon Sutter a "healthy scratch"
last night too...A very class act, even if Sutter didn't have a ay about it. he will go far in his time on the ice. I just hope and pray when he opens all the way up, those who will play against him and the canes will sorely regret it!
Go Canes !!
Welcome back Conboy
Fri, 02/20/2009 - 13:37 — CanenutGlad to have him back, who else do we have that can play both ways and fight when needed. I am sure he felt better getting it all out on the ice. Hope he gets to stay for a long time. Thought he should have had a one-way instead of Brookbank.