He was a high school kid who wanted to play college hockey, only to be rejected time and time again.
“I remember sending out a bunch of emails and not getting any responses back,” Joe Pendenza said.
Pendenza, a 31-year-old Wilmington native who attended Arlington Catholic, is getting the last laugh.
After a storied four-year career at UMass Lowell in which he scored 110 points and helped the River Hawks get within an overtime goal of playing for the national championship, Pendenza is eight seasons into a successful professional career.
While many of his relatives in Wilmington and Tewksbury were dealing with slick roads and sleet Wednesday morning — his parents, Robert and Rosa, still live in Wilmington — Pendenza was walking around Florida in 70-degree weather.
“Things are going well. The season is going well. Living down here isn’t bad, so I can’t complain,” Pendenza said.
Pendenza enters this weekend with 29 points in 30 games for the Florida Everblades of the ECHL, tying him for fourth in the league in scoring. He has 13 points in his last 10 games.
He has played in 446 pro regular-season games.
“It’s definitely gone by very fast. I’m in my eighth year and it feels like just the other day I was playing in my first American Hockey League game,” he said. “When I first set out to play pro I said if I feel like it’s a job, I’m out.”
The 5-foot-11, 190-pound forward still loves the game, still looks forward to each season with a child-like enthusiasm.
“It’s kind of a year-by-year basis. As of right now, I plan on playing next year,” he said.
Pendenza has played for teams in Milwaukee, Cincinnati, Manchester, Cleveland, Idaho and Florida. He has played in 255 games at the AHL level, one step from the National Hockey League.
He played in one NHL exhibition game for Columbus at the St. Louis Blues. He admits he was star-struck for most of the first period.
“Overall, for my career, I had a really good run in the AHL. I’m really happy about my pro career. I would have liked to have played in the NHL, but I’m happy about how it’s turned out,” Pendenza said.
Skating for the Everblades, who play out of Estero, Fla., has been a blessing.
“It’s one of the best organizations I’ve been part of,” he said. “I have no complaints about playing down here. It’s almost like I’m back at Lowell.”
He met his longtime girlfriend, Lauren, while he was playing in Cleveland. They married last year and are building a home in Naples, Fla.
“We have a really good team down here. It makes it easier to play,” he said. “There’s a huge fan base down here.”
The Everblades are virtually the only professional sports team in southwest Florida. Fans fill 7,181-seat Hertz Arena on a frequent basis and cheer on No. 22.
“It’s pretty cool,” Pendenza said of still playing hockey for a living. “I tell the younger guys how old I am and they’re like, ‘You’re old.’ But it’s amazing to still be playing pro hockey at a pretty high level. I’m very proud of it and very humbled. Certainly things have worked out for me. I’ve been lucky that I’ve been relatively healthy.”
Pendenza credits someone he met at UMass Lowell, Devan McConnell, for instilling in him the importance of eating right and getting a good night’s sleep. McConnell is now the director of Performance Science and Reconditioning for the New Jersey Devils.
Pendenza played in 152 games at UML from 2010-14.
“The four years at Lowell were special,” he said. “Obviously my junior year really stands out. The road to the Frozen Four was a rollercoaster ride.”
It was a ride that propelled the underdog River Hawks all the way to Pittsburgh. Playing eventual national champion Yale University in the 2013 semifinals, Pendenza and UML fell in overtime.
“We were so close to playing for the national championship,” he said. “It’s wild to think we were so close.”
Among his classmates, only Pendenza and Chad Rudwedel, a defenseman for the Pittsburgh Penguins, still play professionally.
Pendenza’s schedule hasn’t allowed him to watch UML in person, a fact that frustrates him, but he remains a “scoreboard watcher.” He’s encouraged by the team’s 11-3-3 start this season.
“It was really special because I went to Lowell games when I was younger. My dad would take me. It was a special four years,” he said.
Not bad for someone who received nearly zero interest from college recruiters. He talked to Northeastern and Bentley, but UMass Lowell won his services when it offered scholarship money.
“I have very, very fond memories of Joe,” UML head coach Norm Bazin said. “I think he’s one of the best forwards we’ve had since I’ve been here. He was such a tremendous player and so versatile. He was probably one of the fastest kids in the league. He was a coach’s dream.”
Bazin said he’s “not whatsoever” surprised Pendenza is still playing pro hockey.
“When you skate like that you can play for a long time,” Bazin said.
Due to the fact that ECHL teams sport only 10 forwards, Pendenza plays an average of 20-25 minutes per game. His legs and lungs get quite the workout.
“I definitely feel the season more as the years have gone by,” he said, laughing.
Pendenza laughs several times during the interview. It’s almost as if he’s getting the last laugh at all those college recruiters who ignored him.
