Mike "Whopper" Lenarduzzi (born September 14, 1972) is a retired ice hockey

Ice hockey

Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

 goaltender

Goaltender

In ice hockey, the goaltender is the player who defends his team's goal net by stopping shots of the puck from entering his team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring...

 who played professionally for the Hartford Whalers

Hartford Whalers

The Hartford Whalers were a professional ice hockey team based for most of its existence in Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.A.. The club played in the World Hockey Association from 1972–79 and in the National Hockey League from 1979–97...

, Hershey Bears

Hershey Bears

The Hershey Bears Hockey Club is a professional ice hockey team playing in the American Hockey League, and is currently the top affiliate of the NHL Washington Capitals. The hockey club is based in the unincorporated town of Hershey, Pennsylvania, located within Derry Township some 14 miles east of...

, Springfield Indians

Springfield Indians

The Springfield Indians were a minor professional ice hockey franchise, originally based in West Springfield, Massachusetts and later Springfield, Massachusetts. The Indians were founding members of the American Hockey League. They were in existence for a total of 60 seasons from 1926 to 1994, with...

 and other professional teams in North America and Europe.

Playing career

Born in London, Ontario

London, Ontario

London is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, situated along the Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. The city has a population of 352,395, and the metropolitan area has a population of 457,720, according to the 2006 Canadian census; the metro population in 2009 was estimated at 489,274. The city...

, Lenarduzzi played junior hockey for the Oshawa Generals

Oshawa Generals

The Oshawa Generals are a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League. They are based in Oshawa, Ontario. The team is named for General Motors, an early sponsor which has its Canadian headquarters in Oshawa. The Generals are one of the most successful franchises in Canadian Hockey League...

, Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds

Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds

The Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds are a major junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League. The Greyhounds play home games at the Essar Centre. The present team was founded in 1962 as a team in the Northern Ontario Hockey Association. The Greyhounds name has been used by several ice hockey...

, Ottawa 67s and Sudbury Wolves

Sudbury Wolves

The Sudbury Wolves are the name of the ice hockey team from Sudbury, Ontario. Sudbury has had a hockey team known as the "Wolves" nearly every year since World War I. The Sudbury Wolves, the senior men's AAA team, have twice been chosen to be Canada's representatives at the Ice Hockey World...

 of the Ontario Hockey League

Ontario Hockey League

The Ontario Hockey League is one of the three Major Junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 15-20.The OHL also operates under the Ontario Hockey Federation of Hockey Canada....

 before turning professional in 1992 with the Springfield Indians

Springfield Indians

The Springfield Indians were a minor professional ice hockey franchise, originally based in West Springfield, Massachusetts and later Springfield, Massachusetts. The Indians were founding members of the American Hockey League. They were in existence for a total of 60 seasons from 1926 to 1994, with...

, the American Hockey League

American Hockey League

The American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League...

 (AHL) affiliate of the Hartford Whalers. He had been drafted in the third round of the 1990 NHL Entry Draft

1990 NHL Entry Draft

The 1990 National Hockey League Entry Draft was the 28th NHL Entry Draft. It was hosted by the Vancouver Canucks at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada on June 16, 1990...

 by the Hartford Whalers. He would be in the Hartford system until 1994 - his most notable action being his exhibition game for Springfield, in which he allowed eight goals on the first eleven shots he faced before being pulled - and played four games in the NHL. After 1994, he played for a number of minor league teams including the AHL Hershey Bears in 1996–97. He played one season in the Italian Hockey League for Milan in 1998–99, before finishing his career with one season with the Baton Rouge Kingfish

Baton Rouge Kingfish

The Baton Rouge Kingfish were a minor professional ice hockey team in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, as a member of the East Coast Hockey League. The franchise arrived in Baton Rouge in 1996 after relocating from Erie, Pennsylvania, where they had played as the Erie Panthers since 1988 as one of the...

 of the ECHL

ECHL

The ECHL is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Princeton, New Jersey with teams scattered across the United States...

in 1999–2000.

External links