Page 7 - WLC YEAR 2 (FINAL WITH ADS)_Neat

The 82-82 Washington Metros. Matt Mallgrave (C) & Jeremy Roenick (A) in front row. Coaches: Wally Roenick, Bob Siblo, Pete Ottman, Paul Marchant
"He was always that good,? Mallgrave hockey. We played incredible amounts of put together the team to go as the Little
recalls. ?And he was a little pipsqueak too. bubble hockey.? Capitals.," Roenick recalls.
He was tiny. He didn?t play rough the way Playing real hockey, they would dominate They were not taken seriously when they
he did in the NHL. We would go to these the competition. ?We would go up to arrived. ?When we got to Quebec City, they
five game tournaments, where you play Boston and get into the finals. And they were like ?Washington? We?re gonna blow
Friday, Saturday and Sunday. And he were like, who is this team from you out.?? Mallgrave says. ?And we?d go
would score 30 points. In a single Washington?? Mallgrave says. ?We were out there and kick their ass. We were
tournament.?
playing against Tony Amonte and Marty good.?
They traveled to all the games together. ?We ?In one game, I scored eight goals,?
would drive everywhere,? Roenick recalls. "it doesn't matter Roenick remembers. ?The tournament
?Me and Matt in the backseat, my dad and
Frank Mallgrave in the front. Our closest where you are from if record was nine goals, set by some kid
team was Philadelphia. Most of the time you want it bad named Wayne Gretzky. It was a very cool
experience, especially for kids from
we?re driving up to New York, up to Washington, because that was as close to
Massachusetts. It was some crazy times.?
enough you will find a the craziness of being a pro at that age.?
?We?d fill the well of the back window with What stood out to Tony Ryan at the time
pillows,? Mallgrave says. ?One of us would way to get better." was Roenick?s work ethic. ?He was always
sleep on the floor, and one would sleep in the first kid on the ice, ready to go,
the window well. And then Jeremey would - Jeremy roenick completely focused. He was just the hardest
listen to awful music. He was a disco guy working kid out there.?
and he?d sing. The music would be on and McIness. These are name guys in the NHL
we?d all be like ?Shut up. All you do is sing and we would play in this 12-year-old They also had a lot of fun. ?It was a warm
the whole way.? We?d play cards the whole tournament. Fast forward ten years, and I climate [in Washington] and we were
way up in the backseat. We?d try to punch would say 40 percent of the kids made the always trying to skate on ponds,? Mallgrave
each other as hard as we could in the arm NHL. It was nuts. This is a team from remembers. ?I lived on Henderson avenue,
and we what kind of bruise we can give Washington, competing with these guys.? which dead ended into Wheaton Regional
each other.? Park. There was a lake there. So we were
Their best memories were playing in the always testing the limits of ?Can we skate
The two families would share hotel rooms Quebec Pee Wee tournament. When he was on this?? And there were some shady times
on the road, Mallgrave recalls. ?Jeremy and still in Connecticut, Roenick had gone to when we probably should have fallen in.?
I would sleep with our parents in the same Quebec with the Hartford Jr. Whalers. ?So
bed. We were 12-year-olds playing knee when we went down to Washington, my dad CONTINUED NEXT PAGE

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