Hoisting the Cup: Repucci enjoys Bruins ride first hand

DOVER — Derek Repucci said the first thing that went through his mind as he hoisted Lord Stanley's Cup over his head in Vancouver last Wednesday was, “Don't drop this.”

He didn't.

What the Rochester native did do is enjoy his small part in the Boston Bruins' ascension to their first National Hockey League Stanley Cup championship since Bobby Orr, Phil Esposito, Johnny Bucyk and company skated with the B's during their last Cup victory in 1972. Boston beat the Canucks in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals on June 15, 4-0, to capture their third seven-game series win, which included two wins after falling behind two games to zero.

“It was pretty cool,” said Repucci, now in his fifth season with the Bruins as an assistant trainer and massage therapist. “The team flew my wife (Leigh) and mom (Suzanne) out. I was there for all 107 games. It was a roller coaster, lots of ups and downs. Every Game 7, you would think 'this could be the end.' Every round felt better and better. It was a pretty good experience.”

Although he wasn't born at the time of the previous Bruins' Stanley Cup victory in '72, Repucci, 35, is inextricably tied to both eras. His parents were Bruins ticket holders back during the glory days of the 1970s and on the eve of his birth each wanted to name him after their favorite Bruin. His mom wanted Bobby after Bobby Orr and his dad, Andrew, leaned to Derek after Derek Sanderson. His dad died in an accident in 1988.

Repucci, a 1993 St. Thomas Aquinas High School grad, got to the hold the 35-pound Stanley Cup for 25 seconds in Vancouver during the team's on-ice celebration. “That was a dream come true,” he said. “It's hard to put it into words. When you get it, you don't believe. And then it's there and then you give it to someone else. I know it's 35 pounds, but you're still not sure how much it's going to weigh. I got it up there and it's the happiest moment in your life.”

Repucci didn't get a Stanley Cup share, but he does get a day with the Stanley Cup and he may even get his name on the rotating trophy (each team is allotted 52 names for players, coaches and personnel). He's not sure when he will get the Cup, but he said he plans to bring it to Rochester.

Although Repucci said he couldn't talk about the Bruins injuries, he did say the Bruins were not as hard hit by the injury bug as other teams.

Mount Panorama Circuit

The Circuit

The Pit Straight

The Pit straight of Mount Panorama, which is adjacent to the pit complex, has a different start line and finish line. For the standing start only, the start line is 143m closer to Hell Corner so that all the pit bays are located after the finish line for lap counting purposes. The start line is located where it is so that traffic does not go too far around Murray’s Corner when the start grid is formed.

Hell Corner

The common misperception of nomenclature due to the accidents that happen at this turn are widespread. Hell Corner was so named after the tree stump that existed on the apex of turn one, it was believed that any motor bike riders who hit the stump would die in an act of folly and thereby be doomed to an eternity of death having no time to repent of their sin.

Mountain Straight

Mountain Straight is a long straight that begins the climb up the mountain towards Griffins Bend. V8 Supercars reach speeds up to 250 km/h (155 mph) as drivers race over the crest immediately prior to braking for Griffins Bend. In the days before modern aerodynamics, drivers would have to lift off the throttle to prevent becoming airborne over the crest halfway up the straight.

Griffins Bend

Also known as GTX Bend (the corner’s first sponsor), Griffins Bend was named after the Mayor of Bathurst whose vision it was to create the scenic road/race-track. Drivers heading around this right-hander have to be careful not to drift too far out of this negatively-cambered turn and hit the wall upon exit.

The Cutting

Referred to for many years as “BP Cutting”, this is a pair of left hand corners, leading into a steep 1:6 grade exit. Overtaking is virtually impossible here, and it is very hard to recover from a spin here because of the narrow room and steep gradient. This corner was the location of the infamous ‘race rage’ incident between Marcos Ambrose and Greg Murphy, after Murphy and Ambrose collided when both drivers refused to give the other “racing room” during the 2005 Supercheap Auto 1000, Ambrose’s last before he moved to the United States for racing. Murphy then disappeared into a resident’s house to view the replays on TV before returning to the pits.[citation needed]

Reid Park

After exiting the Cutting, drivers have a right hand turn, heading up, then into a left hand turn. This is Reid Park. The most famous incident in the history of the Bathurst 1000[citation needed] was here when Dick Johnson crashed his Ford Falcon in the early laps of the 1980 Hardie-Ferodo 1000 race avoiding a large rock that had fallen from the spectator area. The car was destroyed, taking with it Johnson’s means of supporting his racing ambitions. An emotional public appeal followed during the race’s telecast which re-launched Johnson’s career and restored flagging public interest[citation needed] in touring car racing.

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