When he was lying in a hospital bed for 12 days, Michael Bordieri admits the thought that he might never play hockey again crossed his mind. A senior assistant captain on the Quinnipiac men’s hockey team, Bordieri suffered a serious injury in a game Nov. 4 at RPI that resulted in his spleen being removed.

After nearly two months off the ice, Bordieri resumed practicing at the beginning of January and returned to the line-up for Quinnipiac’s game last Tuesday against Harvard.

“I don’t think I’ll play professionally and knowing this was my last year after playing 18 years of hockey I wanted to do whatever I could,” Bordieri said. “One of the biggest accomplishments of my career was coming back from that injury.”

Bordieri said he was chasing an RPI player on the penalty kill when the accident happened. As Bordieri went to hit the player, he slid off him and went halfway over the boards into the RPI bench, slamming his stomach where the board meets the glass.

“I just thought I broke my ribs, so I played through it, and then when I got on the bus I was in some rough shape,” said Bordieri, who went to the hospital later that night.

According to WebMD.com, the spleen is a useful but nonessential organ on the upper left side of the abdomen that filters the blood. If the spleen is removed, certain immunizations are necessary to prevent infections that the spleen normally fights.

Bordieri knows what it’s like to be out for an extended period of time. During his sophomore year, he suffered a season-ending injury in his second game of the season. With this being his senior season, Bordieri wanted to make sure the game at RPI wasn’t his final game.

“This is my last kick at the can, so that was definitely a driving factor for me,” Bordieri said. “Seeing as we’re playing pretty well right now, I wanted to be part of this.”

HEROES HAT IS BACK

After a one-year absence, the Heroes Hat was awarded to Quinnipiac after its win against Yale on Friday. The Heroes Hat was an award created to recognize all of those who lost and risked their lives on Sept. 11, 2001.

It was originally established by Quinnipiac and UConn, with the award going to the team that won the season series in men’s hockey. The Bobcats won it for the fourth straight year in 2005 before leaving Atlantic Hockey to join the ECACHL.

Since Quinnipiac no longer plays UConn every year, the Bobcats and Yale will battle for the award. At Quinnipiac, the award honors Joseph Mascali (FDNY/Staten Island 5), father of Quinnipiac graduates Chris and Jenn.

Chris, who graduated last year, was on hand Friday to accept the award in an on-ice ceremony following the game. Unfortunately, most students bolted for the exits early to get in line for the shuttles back to campus, so the arena was mostly empty for the ceremony.

BOBCATS UP FOR AWARDS

Freshman forward Brandon Wong has advanced to the fan voting portion of selection for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award. Wong leads the ECACHL and is tied for second among all NCAA freshmen in goals with 17.

The Hobey Baker is awarded annually to the top NCAA men’s hockey player. Fans may vote for only one player at a time at www.hobeybaker.com, but can vote multiple times per day. Voting in phase one will end March 4. Phase two will begin March 15 after the top ten finalists have been announced.

Senior defenseman Reid Cashman, a 2005 Hobey Baker finalist, has been named a semifinalist for the Walter Brown Award, presented annually to the best American-born college hockey player in New England.

Cashman leads the ECACHL in assists with 21. He needs just seven more assists to become Quinnipiac’s all-time leader in that department.