You Won't Believe What Happened At Valley Crest

173-year-old Joepa Psyched For 22nd Century

Scott Reinardy
 Wednesday, December 29, 1999 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 3B 





The large bloodstain on the ice was all Casey Harris needed. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Philadelphia's Francis Belanger slammed Penguins' Mike Yeo into the boards
while he was already down on the ice. Yeo was cut in two places around the
left eye, eventually requiring eight stitches. The referee did not penalize
Belanger, so Harris had to distribute the punishment. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; With enforcer Dennis Bonvie protecting his Pittsburgh mates, Harris was
promoted as Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's heavyweight. Of course, being Bonvie's
understudy has certain responsibilities. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``Casey said, `I want to play against Belanger,' '' Coach Glenn Patrick
said after Monday's 7-5 loss to Philadelphia. ``I thought he just wanted to go
out and play hard against him. He wanted to go out and challenge him. I
thought that was very important.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 At 4:38 of the second period, Harris lined up across from Belanger for a
faceoff. Two seconds later, they were exchanging knuckle sandwiches. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``I turned to him and said, `Hey, are you ready now?' He kind of looked at
me funny,'' Harris said Tuesday. ``He really didn't want to do anything, but I
didn't get on the ice for nothing. I gave him a punch to the face right away
and he dropped the gloves.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Without Bonvie's experience, reputation or technique, Harris valiantly
protected his team's honor, an essential part of AHL hockey. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``It's so important to know that every guy is going to go to bat for every
other guy,'' Yeo said. ``I know the next time something happens to Casey I'll
be the first guy to jump in there. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``It's one of those things that are overlooked, but come April they really
determine what make your team.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Being the designated hitter as an AHL rookie is no easy task. Honestly,
Harris doesn't seem to have the disposition of a brawler. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The 6-foot-2, 205-pounder from Ferris State is a goof around his teammates,
and heartthrob among the girls he entertains during the in-school Penguins'
clinics. He's the last of the Penguins whose hair flows out from under his
helmet, and he smiles more than any other player on the team. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 On the ice, Harris takes on an alter ego, one that does what is needed.
He's been in a handful of fights this season, and during practice will
regularly take lessons from Bonvie. It's an undesirable role he's adapted
while still trying to play good, sound hockey. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``Part of it is my size. I'm a bigger-built player and I'm not one of those
players that scores every night,'' he said. ``I'm a grinding-type forward and
try to get my nose as dirty as possible.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Harris' reputation was built on a fight during Pittsburgh's training camp
where he took free agent David Wilkie to task after a cheap shot. It's hard to
say who won the fight, but Harris is playing with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and
Wilkie was released. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Harris fought again in a Penguins exhibition game. From there, he has
become Bonvie's substitute tough guy. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``Nobody can fill Dennis' shoes, that's for sure. He has the respect of the
whole league with him,'' Harris said. ``I just try to go out there every night
and keep it simple. I don't play any different when Dennis is gone.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 In 31 games, Harris has three goals, one assist and 53 penalty minutes, but
his contribution isn't often located in the statistics. He's a player who
finishes checks and lets opponents know he's on the ice. And he's been in five
fights this season. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Harris' tough guy persona isn't a byproduct of hockey, but rather
professional wrestling. After hockey, Harris wants to wrestle or manage at the
professional ranks. His budding interest in the ``sport'' expanded while
grappling dummies in college. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``We had a wrestling team at Ferris and all our team stretches were down in
that room. It had all those huge wrestling dummies that we used to thrown
around. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``I always said someday I'll be a manager or a wrestler. It'd be a fun job
to fall back on.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Last May, Harris and some buddies visited the WCW's Power Plant open
tryouts in Atlanta. There, guys paid a $700 fee for instruction, speech
lessons, help with costume designs and creating their wrestling character.
It's like a girls finishing school with body slams. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Harris did not participate but, ``We talked to the instructor and he showed
us some moves, but it was all stuff on how to take a fall without getting
hurt.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 While Harris isn't ready to trade his slapshot for slapstick wrestling,
some of his buddies are in serious training. And, he already has a nickname -
Scorpion. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Until the wrestling ring beckons, Scorpion Harris will be the defender of
his team. It's a seat he's keeping warm until Bonvie returns. If Bonvie
doesn't return, then Harris is willing to inherit the role full time. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``If you let (Belanger) get away with what he did to Mike Yeo, and you
didn't do anything about it, it would have gone on all night,'' he said. ``I
wanted to try to help make a stand.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 For his effort, Harris received five stitches to his forehead after falling
to the ice and being kneed by the linesman, who was attempting to break up the
fight. He was given the standard 5-minute major penalty and a game misconduct
after reaching over the officials to get one final shot at Belanger. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 In hockey, goals and assists don't always measure a man's character.
Harris' contribution in Monday's game won't be found on the score sheet, but
it'll make a seasonlong impact that his teammates, especially Mike Yeo, will
not forget. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Scott Reinardy is the Penguins beat writer for The Times Leader.

In The Role Of Dennis Bonvie - Casey Harris A New Enforcer In Town