Key Maine Forward Made Surprising Return From Major Midseason Injury
by Jashvina Shah/Staff Writer (@icehockeystick)
(photo: Matt Dewkett)
When Lynden Breen scored the first goal in Maine’s win over Connecticut, helping the Black Bears to their first Hockey East championship in 21 years, one thing was clear.
He was back.
“He doesn’t have game breaking speed, he doesn’t have a hardest wrist shot,” teammate Nolan Renwick said. “But he always seems to be in the right spots at the right times and he’s very creative offensively. He’s got that motor where he’s never going to quit on a battle. He’s never going to quit on a puck. He’s always going to the dirty areas and he’ll do whatever it takes to win. So he’s given us a huge boost offensively.”
But something has changed within Breen.
Something is not the same.
It’s noticeable to the team, and to his coaching staff.
But it’s not a bad change. Rather, it’s a quite good one.
“He’s just super positive, and I think his outlook has changed a little bit,” Maine coach Benn Barr said. “That’s really the piece that he’s added to us that’s been so important.”
All this happened because, four months ago, Breen — a key player in everything Maine has done in recent years — broke his leg and sprained his ankle at RPI. In the 14 minutes he was on the ice, Breen recorded four points – including a hat trick. Barr, seeing Breen roll back on his leg, was unsure the forward would play again this season. Two months, three months, next year … Breen’s return was uncertain.
“I didn’t have doubts to start, but I definitely didn’t look too far ahead,” Breen said.
Not only had Breen broken his fibula, but he also badly sprained his ankle – affecting his syndesmosis ligament. The syndesmosis ligament is a fibrous joint that’s made up of several ligaments, and he needed “tightrope surgery” to repair the injury. The surgery – which is more common in football players – stabilizes the area between the tibia and fibula in a flexible manner and can shorten rehabilitation time.
“Maybe it’ll be a blessing in disguise one day as for how much I’ve learned about myself throughout the challenge,” Breen said.
During his rehabilitation, Breen found it easier to skate than run or jump, taking to the ice one month…
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