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#40 - Frank Pietrangelo

Games Played :

112

Position :

Netminder

Minutes :

6421

Catches :

Left

Shots On Goal :

2997

Hometown :

Niagara Falls

Goals Against :

279

    

Save Percentage :

90.7

    

Goals Against Ave :

2.61

    

Frank Pietrangelo was signed by Kurt Kleinendorst for his second season in charge of the Storm, 1998/99 as the number one netminder for the club.

An ex-NHLer, he had played for the Pittsburgh Penguins, winning the Stanley Cup with them in 1991, and the Hartford Whalers in the big show, he came to the Storm by way of Italy and Germany.  He won a championship with Bolzano in Italy in his first European season before moving to Kaufbern in the German DEL the next year.  Unfortunately, the money at Kaufbern ran out after a couple of months and Frankie returned to Italy to play for Assiago.

The following year, with the needs of his young children at the forefront, Frankie decided he wanted to play in England and sigend up with the Storm for the 1998/99 season.

In his first season with the Storm, Frankie’s NHL experience shone through as he was widely touted as the best netminder in the British Superleague and was an influential part of the Manchester Storm squad that went on to win their first Superleague title.  His contribution to the

team and overall outstanding play also earned him the Superleague player of the year award for the 1998/99 season.

The following season was disrupted by injuries for Frankie but he still managed to play a huge part in the Storm’s second major trophy in two years - the Benson and Hedges Cup.  Frankie posted back to back shutouts in the two legged semi-final against Cardiff Devils and in the showpiece final stopped all 5 of the London Knights penalty shots to give the Storm a victory.

Frankie started the 2000/01 season as the Storm’s #1 netminder again and in the early matches seemed to have recovered some of the

Frank Pietrangelo Storm Stars Wallpaper

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form he had showed in his first year with the Storm.  But, the team defence was not as strong as previously and his play was not reflected in the stats.  Not long into Frank’s 3rd season with the Storm he hit injury troubles again and was forced out of the line up - he did return briefly but aggravated the injury.  On 1 December 2000 Manchester Storm announced that Frank Pietrangelo had been advised by doctors not to play again this season and as Frank had already stated this would be his last season he retired from the game and returned to Canada.

Although in his second and third seasons with the Storm he was not the dominant force in the league that he had been in 1998/99, his contribution to the Storm winning two major trophies in two seasons makes him an undoubted Storm Star!!

PD - 7/1/2001

A more detailed tribute to the career of Frank Pietrangelo (including numerous pictures), both before and with the Storm can be found here.