Mr BioFile Interviews by Scoop Malinowski
Status: Former NHL and AHL defenseman. Played in 30 NHL games for Pittsburgh from 1980-1983 and 238 in the AHL for Binghamton and Baltimore.
Ht: 6-3 Wt: 205
DOB: October 23, 1959 In: Kitchener, Ontario
First Hockey Memory: I have two fond memories – when I got drafted to juniors and the NHL (third round, 52nd overall by Pittsburgh in 1979). First NHL game in Maple Leaf Garden with the Penguins (1980) and my first NHL game with the Penguins in Boston.
Hockey Inspirations: Gee, there you can run the gamut. Tim Horton. Bobby Orr. I was more of a defensive defenseman because I wasn’t that quick. I was a fifth or sixth defenseman for the Penguins. Bobby Hull. Gordie Howe.
First Famous Player You Met Or Encountered: Was Gary Dornhoefer. Because he was from my hometown and my dad was friends with his dad. We went to a Flyers-Leafs game at Maple Leaf Garden. Gary came out of the locker room and we met him after the game.
Greatest Sports Moment: Again, that would be the first time I was actually able to step on the ice in an NHL game. In Maple Leaf Garden playing against the Leafs. As a kid from Kitchener, that’s all you saw is the Leafs.
Most Painful Moment: Is actually when I was in the minors. Stomach artery injury in one of the games that put me out for about two months. In Hershey. We don’t know how it happened. It just blew up on me.
Favorite Uniforms: Black and gold – Penguins gold home jersey.
Favorite Rinks: Maple Leaf Garden – I played junior there. I liked Hershey. The Igloo. Boston Garden was nice. Rochester.
Funniest Player Encountered: A guy I played in the minors with Gary Rissling. He was a comic. He kept the dressing room loose.
Fiercest Competitors Encountered: In what aspect? (Toughness, fighting, intensity, drive…) The best player naturally was Gretzky at the time. Toughness… I prided myself on not being intimidated by anyone or whatever came along. Darryl Sittler. Phil Esposito. Clark Gillies was huge and strong, you didn’t want to piss him off. You let him skate up and down the ice. A bunch of the old greats were still playing when I played. They kept you on your toes. I fought John Wensink in New Jersey, we both got match penalties. He was biting my ear and so I pulled his hair to get him off my ear. I fought Larry Playfair in Buffalo and Curt Fraser in Vancouver. I fought Al Secord in junior, pretty well a draw. We had a mutual respect, no animosity. I remember we were talking on the way to the penalty boxes.
Most Memorable Fight: My most memorable fight was with Dave Brown when he was with the Maine Mariners. I knew he was a good fighter, he knew I was a good fighter. We squared off. I made it seem that I was a left-handed fighter. So he moved to the right and I hit him with a right hand, I guess the force of him moving into my right put him down. I don’t know if he was out cold but when I skated into the penalty box, they were still getting him up. He later said that I bullrushed him but that’s a bunch of BS. He thought I was a lefty. We did have one more fight after in Baltimore, that was pretty much a draw.
Most Memorable Goal: In pro was my first pro goal in the minors. First goal was in New Haven, shot from the blueline, the goalie got screened, and if you’re looking at the net, the puck went into the top right corner.
Strangest Game: One game comes to mind. My final year we were down 5 or 6 to nothing versus Springfield in the third period. At that time we had a long winning streak. We ended up winning 6-5 or 7-6 and kept our winning streak alive. We carried that into the playoffs, went to the finals against Sherbrooke, who had a future Hall of Fame goalie in Patrick Roy. We had the better team, they had the better goalie.
Why Do You Love Hockey: Naturally the game has a nice, fast pace, physical, team sport, it brought the competitive stuff out. The game itself is a great teacher of life lessons.
Bennett Wolf vs John Wensink fight at Meadowlands Brendan Byrne Arena in NJ
