Steve Rooney
What would you do if you were a NHL rookie and had to play in a Stanley Cup playoff game or get married.
That was the exact situation Steve Rooney faced, making his wedding day is one day he'll never forget.
You see, a year earlier while still in school Rooney and his fiancee planned a wedding for April 1985. Obviously neither figured that Steve would be competing for the Stanley Cup after graduating from Providence College with his Business Management degree.
But that's exactly what he was doing. He joined the Canadiens upon the completion of the NCAA season, and impressed with 1 goal and some big hits in 3 regular season games.
Unexpectedly Rooney became a regular on the Habs playoffs roster, playing in 11 of 12 Montreal post-season games.
All of which was great, until the wedding coincided with a Montreal-Boston playoff tilt. Needless to say, the Rooneys had a difficult decision to make. Fortunately for Rooney the game just happened to be played in Boston.
The wedding was moved to the morning, and Rooney left the chapel almost immediately in order to help Montreal win the game and eliminate the Bruins. Rooney celebrated his big day by scoring a goal!
The 88th overall draft pick in 1981 was a quite the athlete growing up. He played high school football and baseball was a passion, not surprisingly since his father owned a bar near Fenway Park. But hockey and the Boston Bruins were his true love.
Rooney became a hockey legend at his Canton, Mass. high school. So much so that the school actually retired his jersey #16.
Rooney earned a full scholarship to Providence, where he played hockey and also majored in business management, fulfilling his scholastic commitments before turning pro. In doing so he led Providence to the championship game in 1985, bowing out to RPI.
Rooney immediately turned pro at the completion of the college season, joining the Montreal for the balance of the 1984-85 regular season, joining them for the playoff run.
Despite a good showing, Steve Rooney never really caught on in the NHL. He did play in part of five NHL seasons, joining Winnipeg in 1987 and New Jersey in 1989. He played in a total of 154 games. He scored 15 goals, 28 points and 496 penalty minutes.
In retirement he returned to the Boston area and became a sales executive for a Massachusetts broadband company.
2 comments:
i remember steve rooney from peewee hockey in canton. Steve was big and strong and let his desire to show how tough he was get the best of him sometime. He used to start fights and one time he was warned that he would not be able to play if he didn't straighten out. To his credit he began to use his skills better and realized he better follow the rules and work hard. He became a pretty good player in college and made it to the big league by using his toughness to his advantage.
Steve is the father of my childhood best friend, Chris Rooney, and we used to watch his fight tapes all the time. He was a tough guy and it certainly passed on to his children. His oldest son Joe played four years at Boston College on a full scholarship. Boston College, for those who don't know, is a perennial powerhouse in College Hockey and always one of the best teams in the nation. My friend and Steve's second son, Chris Rooney, Played like his father on a scholarship to Providence. The kid was always tough as nails. He made me a tougher kid growing up as well with all the helmet boxing and scrapping we used to do. Like his father, Chris really liked to show his toughness on and off the Ice, always willing to give it a go with anyone. I love the whole family and miss them alot since i moved away.
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