Frederic, Wensink Share Unique Connection

BOSTON – John Wensink hardly hesitated – and it was before Trent Frederic had notched a goal and dropped the gloves.

During the first intermission of the Bruins’ tilt against the New York Rangers – a showdown between the top two teams in the Eastern Conference – on Saturday night, the former Bruins heavyweight met with the media to reflect on Lunch Pail A.C. Era Night.

When asked who he thought would best fit in to that rough-and-tumble time period of Bruins hockey, Wensink immediately thought of Frederic.

“Yeah, I think he might be a little biased because he knew me as a younger kid,” Frederic added with a smile.

Wensink has long been a fan of the Black & Gold’s rugged forward and the Frederic family, having formed a connection with them in St. Louis where he settled after his playing career and began a construction business. Wensink also coached Frederic during the Quebec Pee Wee tournament.

“I love the kid…I love the way he plays,” said Wensink, who began his NHL career with a three-game stint with the Blues in 1973-74. “He’s a great kid. His family is just a top-notch family. I pull for him a lot. But I’m a Bruin fan and I pull for them all the time. I never miss a Bruins game.

“If I’m tied up doing something, my wife Rhonda, she records it. If I come in at night or even the next morning while I’m having my coffee, I quickly turn it on and go through the commercials and I go through it. But I watch just about every game.”

Shortly after Wensink’s remarks, Frederic kicked off the scoring with Boston’s lone goal of the evening just over two minutes in to the second period. Just under nine minutes later, Frederic dropped the gloves with Rangers tough guy Jacob Trouba, who was fined after whacking Frederic with a baseball-style swing of the stick in the teams’ last meeting on Nov. 24.

“You can't hit someone as hard as you can with a hockey stick as a fist. You can try,” Frederic said of the tussle with Trouba. “Saturday night, watching all those [Lunch Pail] guys here and watching John Wensink, his video [of challenging the Minnesota North Stars bench] right off the get go.

“I think that's why he didn't want to fight me [initially] because he probably knew that everyone was jacked up.”

Eventually, Trouba obliged and, while the bout was brief, Frederic did land a couple of quick rights and managed to take the Blueshirts blue liner down to the ice – a fitting homage to his friend and fellow Bruin.

“[Wensink] actually texts my brother still, I think he watches most of our games,” said Frederic. “He's a big fan of the Boston Bruins and he is a big fan of me so it's pretty cool.

“Meeting him, knowing him, he’s an awesome guy. It's funny to see in that video when he goes after the [Minnesota] bench. It's pretty iconic.”

Grab Your Lunch Pails

As part of the latest Centennial celebration, the Bruins honored the Lunch Pail era teams with a pregame ceremony that included Wensink exiting the penalty box and reenacting his famous gesture with a challenge of the Rangers bench – all in good fun, of course.

“We spent a little bit of time in there,” said Wensink, who had 429 penalty minutes in 248 games for Boston. “Just the whole fact that we were invited back is huge. A huge honor for me.”

Wensink also recalled the moment he challenged the Minnesota North Stars bench in December 1977 after a fight with Alex Pirus, saying he had never reenacted it on the ice until Saturday night.

“I’ve always said from the minute it happened, I’ve downplayed the whole thing…however, it did happen,” said Wensink. “It was a weak moment…the adrenaline was flowing. There was no motive behind it, I don’t think, other than just pure adrenaline…but it’s been around for [46] years.

“Nowadays, it comes up a lot. Since I retired, I’ve done some charity games and they always want me to go to the other bench. I’ve never done it. Tonight was the first time that I’ve done it on the ice in front of another team, fans. I was always afraid that maybe the team would come off the bench.

“It was one of those moments – not a bad moment, because it’s been around for a long time.”

Stan Jonathan, Mike Milbury (who waved a shoe as he entered the ice in a nod to the infamous brawl with fans at Madison Square Garden), and Keith Crowder also made their entrance from the penalty box as they made their way to center ice.

“It was very fitting,” said Johnathan, whose 738 penalty minutes rank 22^nd in Bruins history. “I felt like when I got into the penalty box, ‘hey, I’m home.’ That’s what you feel like. You spent the most time in there.”

Terry O’Reilly and Rick Middleton were also introduced before Ray Bourque accompanied Normand Leveille – as he did during the Last Hurrah at Boston Garden in 1995 – for the ceremony, during which Leveille, once again, inspired the crowd by standing up out of his wheelchair to perform the ceremonial puck drop.

“I had tears that night [in 1995] and I had tears again tonight,” Bourque told NESN’s Andy Brickley and Jack Edwards during the second period of Saturday night’s game. “Just watching him, he loves being in Boston. Brick, you’ve seen him at the Bruins Foundation golf tournament every year.

“He just loves the Bruins family. Just a shame that we didn’t get to see him more and see what he could’ve been.”

And while they did not take part in the on-ice ceremony, former Bruins Tom Songin, Ross Brooks, Jean Ratelle, Al Secord, Dwight Foster, Mike Krushelynski, Charlie Simmer, Barry Pederson, Bruce Crowder, and Pete Peeters were also part of the festivities, which included reunion dinners on both Friday and Saturday evening. Several of them were also recognized on the big screen during the game.

“Being back with the guys…we don’t talk about hockey anymore, we talk about how our health is,” said Jonathan, now 68 and just recovered from triple bypass surgery in June. “I’m feeling good, got to do some physiotherapy to see what I can and can’t do.”

Happy Where He Is

While Wensink suggested Frederic would fit in during the Lunch Pail era, Jonathan named Brad Marchand as the current Bruin who would have best adapted to that time period.

“He’s a physical player and under everyone’s skin like we played,” said Jonathan.

The Boston captain, however, is just fine to be playing in this day and age. The Lunch Pail era? Not his idea of fun – for the most part.

“Nope. I wouldn’t be around very long, those guys are brutes,” Marchand said with a smirk. “That was a whole different type of game, you had to be a different type of tough to play in that era. They're fun to watch.

“Although, it would’ve have been fun to be able to go and fight the fans…anything goes, so that would have been fun for sure.”

A Nod to Grapes

Coach Jim Montgomery donned a plaid, black and gold vest under his suit jacket during the game on Saturday night in a nod to Cherry, who was known for his eccentric fashion style.

“[The Bruins staff] asked me if I would wear it; I said I would be honored to wear anything that resembled him,” said Montgomery.

Cherry, who was not able to attend the ceremony, tweeted his appreciation on Sunday evening.

“Thanks to Jim Montgomery for the tip of the hat,” he wrote. “I have to say Jim, looking sharp.”

A Cherished Honor

Both Wensink and Jonathan were named to the club’s “Historic 100” – the club’s 100 most legendary players – earlier this fall, and on Saturday night they expressed their appreciation.

Jonathan: “It is a great honor…to be picked as one of the 100 players in 100 years, it’s just a pleasure. I thank the management for thinking about me. They never forget us.”

Wensink: “My kids were born here when I was with the Bruins. They accepted as much as I did. It’s an unbelievable honor. I was fortunate that as a kid I grew up as a Bruins fan and I got to play for them. I’m still a huge Bruin fan. To be a part of that 100…it’s just a huge honor.”