Old, new IceGators unite to help Weingartner

LAFAYETTE, LA – On Thursday, October 22, hockey fans in Cajun country will witness the rebirth of the Louisiana IceGators when the franchise plays its first regular season game as a member of the SPHL. Five days before that, the history of the team will be on display at the Blackham Coliseum to benefit one of its own. Many of the franchise’s past stars will lace up the skates one more time in an

alumni game that is the centerpiece of the “Fighting For 15” weekend. The proceeds from the events which include the alumni game, an intersquad scrimmage by the current IceGators and a silent auction will go to the family of former IceGator Rob Weingartner who is fighting a battle with a myriad of illnesses including stage 3 rectal cancer. “Rob was the hardest working captain we had,” current IceGators coach and former teammate Ron Handy said. “I think the fans will get a kick out of seeing us old guys out there skating.” For the self-described “undersized, under skilled kid from Lake Ronkonkoma, New York”, the word fighter is more than appropriate. From the moment he signed his first pro contract with the Wichita Thunder in 1992 and came under the guidance of coach Doug Shedden, Weingartner knew that he needed to work hard to keep playing. “Sheds didn’t pull any punches with me. He said ‘Weiny, you’re not very skilled so being a goal scorer is out of the question and you really aren’t big enough to be a fighter so I’m not sure what to do with you’,” Weingartner said in an open letter on the website www.fightingfor15.com. “The words out of Coach Shedden’s mouth were devastating but I appreciated his honesty. Once I actually sat down and thought about his message to me, I realized that he was pretty much bang on. That conversation changed me as a professional hockey player.” Weingartner went on to prove he could score and take care of himself, posting 20-goal seasons in 1994-95 with Wichita and again in 1995-96 after he was traded to San Antonio. He also racked up the penalty minutes, showing everyone that he could defend himself quite well. In 1996, Weingartner and Shedden were reunited in Lafayette where the coach had helped establish the IceGators franchise.  Weingartner was amazed by what he saw when he arrived in the bayou. “I saw an unbelievable passion that the community had for its hockey team. The fans were absolutely wild and they were everywhere,” he said. “We had more fans at our training camp scrimmages than most teams had for regular season games.” For two seasons, he played on a line with John Spoltore and Don Parsons which became known as the “Charge Line” because the trio was electric on the ice. Weingartner had a career year during the 1997-98 season with career highs in goals (26) and points (53). He would leave Lafayette twice and come back, the second return in 1999-2000 for what would be his final year skating. “Words cannot express how appreciative I am for the time I spent in Lafayette. It was an absolute privilege to play for the greatest owners, in front of the greatest fans in the world with the greatest teammates a guy could ask to play with,” Weingartner said. “Most young hockey players dream about making it to the NHL but playing in Lafayette for the IceGators was my NHL and my hockey dream come true.” Weingartner stayed in Lafayette after retirement and helped start Pro Player Hockey – a travel hockey program – with Jack Williams and Dale Smith. Following the birth of his twins, he, wife Renee, daughter Madison and the boys Jake and Carson moved back to Wichita where Renee’s mother could help out with the little ones. He was an assistant coach for the Thunder for a couple of seasons and spent part of the 2007-08 campaign as the head coach. After that year, he got out of the game and opened “The Penalty Box”, a sports bar, with his wife. One month after the bar opening, Weingartner started noticing some blood in his stool. Thinking nothing of it, he went about his daily life of work and family. It wasn’t until this past January when he had a significant bleeding episode that he went to seek medical help. The tests revealed that he had stage 3 rectal cancer. “I was shocked and so was everyone else around me,” he said. “People kept saying that I was too young for this but unfortunately it was all real.” Doctors hurriedly scheduled surgery and removed seven inches of Weingartner’s colon. Four days after the procedure, he began suffering “tremendous pain”. A second surgery found internal bleeding, forcing the medical staff to stop the bleeding and perform a colostomy and ileostomy to compensate for the removed section of colon. Six months of chemotherapy and radiation treatments followed. For a athlete who prided himself in being in top physical condition, the whole process was earth-shattering for Weingartner. “I would not wish these procedures on my worst enemies. It is absolutely horrifying,” he said. “I remain in a very painful situation as my colon hasn’t worked for several months.” Renee is now running “The Penalty Box” as well as working as the general manager of another sports bar in Wichita. Weingartner credits her and the love of their children as the driving forces behind keeping him focused on recovery. “She has been amazing throughout this whole process and has shown toughness that I can only admire,” he said of his wife. “It is because of her inspiring ways and my love for her and our children that I have kept fighting my ailments even when things weren’t looking good at all. In her I have truly found my soul mate and I love and appreciate her more and more every day.” When word of Weingartner’s health issues got out, the outpouring of support was tremendous. The Thunder and their fans embraced the family, donating money from the team’s annual telethon and the annual Thunder vs. Plunder wheelchair game to help with medical bills. Soon after the announcement of the rebirth of the IceGators franchise, former teammates led by Spoltore, Doug Bonner and Chris and Rob Valicevic contacted Handy and general manager Brent Sapergia about an alumni game. It was the best way they knew to both honor and help their fallen comrade who had earned their respect and the nickname “Captain Hustle”. “Rob has been battling this cancer for the better part of a year now and has fought it with the same intensity that he brought to the rink every night,” Spoltore said. “The overwhelming response from Rob’s former teammates clearly shows how highly he was thought of by the guys who went to battle with him on the ice. Rob was one of the greatest teammates to ever wear the IceGator uniform and his grit and determination was second to none.” A partial list of former teammates who have committed to playing in the game reads like a who’s who of minor league and IceGators hockey: Spoltore, Bonner, Parsons, both Valicevics, Mike Murray, Ryan Shanahan, Jason Mcquat, Dean Hulett, Rob McCaig, Jack Williams, Jay Murphy, Chad Nelson, Ron Handy, Eric Cloutier, Joey Mittelsteadt, Ken Ruddick, John Varga, Bryan Schoen, John DePourcq and Mike Kucsulain. As the event draws closer, the organizers are still getting calls from players who want to participate. Weingartner himself is hoping to be well enough to lace up the skates and take the ice. The game itself will all be center around Weingartner and his number 15 jersey. Every player will sport the 15 on his back. The contest will consist of three 15-minute periods and start at 5:15 PM on Saturday October 17th (well, they couldn’t get all of it to work). Tickets for the game are $15. Along with the game, there will be a pre-game tailgate party on the grounds of the Blackham Coliseum with food, live music, game and more. During the game, a silent auction will be held. Among the items up for bid both at the game and online will be the game-worn jerseys from the alumni game, a diamond necklace, several prints of LSU athletics and the IceGators as well as a jersey/autographed photo set from NHL referee Dan O’Rourke and a package from the NHLPA that features an autographed Alex Ovechkin jersey along with two NHL 2K10 video games. The list of items is growing every day. Handy hopes that beyond the fun and excitement of the alumni game and the upcoming IceGators season, a message gets across. “People need to know that this disease is not just for elderly people to worry about,” he said. “If it can strike a man in his 30’s, it can strike anybody so people need to be aware.” For more information about Weingartner and the event, go to www.fightingfor15.com Contact the author at don.money@prohockeynews.com