Inside The Locker Room | Marquette University Men's Club Hockey

February 2nd, 2012

In this years second edition of "Inside the Locker Room," the team focuses on two individuals who have put countless amounts of time into the success of Marquette Hockey. RJ Bennett is the only senior on the squad and has served as the team President for two consecutive years. His dedication and love for the game has helped put Marquette hockey on the map around the league. Anthony Fabris is playing in his third year with the team and is next in line to take over as President his senior year. Both men are incredible to have around both on and off the ice.

We start with our lone senior, RJ Bennett.

full name: Richard Joseph Bennett III (RJ)

home town: Mundelein IL

Childhood:

I had a typical childhood, I started skating when I was 2 and enjoyed having a lot of family time when I was young. If I wasn’t at the rink you would find me outside with my little brother playing street hockey in the driveway. I have a lot of memorize from my childhood and most of them are about hockey.

I started playing hockey because one of my old neighbors was a local coach and once I was on the ice there was no going back. I started like everyone else doing the Frankenstein across the ice, but I picked it up quickly, and when the time came for me to pick a position goalie was the one that allowed me to be part of the team and show my individual talent all at the same time. I have been asked countless times why I picked to be a goalie, and I have only ever had one answer, “because when everyone else fails I don’t.”

My parents are the reason I am the person I am today and I truly indebted to them for everything they have done for me, they are Rich and Peggy Bennett. I have a little brother named Tommy who is playing junior hockey in the MJHL. We have two dogs a yellow lab named Nellie and an English setter named Rose.

In high school I played three sports football, hockey and lacrosse all four years of high school. I won state my sophomore year in hockey, and was also named team captain my senior year for hockey. I was an honor roll student every semester in high school.

The reason I chose Marquette is simple, I loved the campus. I was on campus 5 minutes and told my parents this was where I wanted to go. The mix of a small campus feel in a big city is hard to master and Marquette did a great job of that.

Hobbies:

I don’t have a lot of spare time with school and hockey but when I do I like to spend it with the people that I love. I enjoy spending time with my family and girlfriend, Stephanie Williams. I also enjoy fishing and hunting with my family and friends.

Random Facts:

My favorite vacation spot is in Canada, Witch Bay camp on Lake of the Woods, where we take our annual fishing trip. When I was younger my most common saying was “sorry I have hockey”. My nickname is “Rough” which I got back in high school because I had the saying “do not be gentle” on the inside of my lacrosse gloves, and after a few physical practices the name stuck.

Next we take a closer look at Anthony Fabris.

Full name: Anthony David Fabris

Story behind the Nickname: I’ll admit that A-Train stuck much more quickly than I expected freshman year. I threw a hit my first shift of my first game and a few senior defenseman were choo-choo’ing when I got back to the bench.

Home town: The Windy City

A little bit about your childhood: Well as tough as it is to follow Grant and Will, I’ll make my best attempt. I grew up on the Northwest Side of Chicago getting my heart broken by my Cubbies year after year. Seeing the Hawks win in 2010 has kept me believing the universe and karma isn’t permanently aligned my Chicago sports teams. A typical summer day for me was playing running bases with my Dad and uncles as well as starting lucrative lemonade stand businesses.

Why did you start playing hockey?:

Isn’t it obvious: For the girls. I began playing the greatest game on ice when I was four because my best friend’s father played and coached us. It all began in a nearby suburb when I pulled on the jersey of the Skokie Flyers. With our orange jerseys, I’m often reminded of that fact that I was frequently confused with a cone as the opposing team walked right around me. Thankfully through some great coaching, I’ve made at least some progress since those days.

Family life:

Definitely would not be where I am today without my parents, Barb and Jack. Whether it was my Dad driving me to 6am practices as a Squirt or my Mom giving me lucky pennies before tryouts, they always kept me going. This year has been great in that it’s my first full season playing with my younger brother David. He’s still waiting to win his first 1 on 1 against me but he’s been a blast to play with. Of course the Fabris clan wouldn’t be complete without Augie and Prince, our two golden retrievers.

High school accomplishments:

Along with choosing Marquette, attending Notre Dame in Niles, IL was easily one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I was assistant captain of an absolutely phenomenal group of my closest friends, went 55-15 our senior year, and made a run in playoffs I’ll never forget.

Why did you come to marquette:

I loved THEEE Marquette University from my first visit here and couldn’t imagine being anywhere else. This is absolutely one of the closest groups of guys I’ve ever been on a team with and we have hands down the best student section in the league. Our fans give every goalie who comes into our building nightmares of our goal song Rock and Roll Part 2 for months afterward.

Life Lessons:

In terms of random facts, I’d like to add that I’m a slightly superstitious person. It started with the same pregame meal and playlist in high school but has progressed to game pucks under my mattress and even having tucked my stick into bed next to me before playoff games. I will movie quote any day or night and will beat anyone who calls me out in bumper pool at my house. Live life by three rules: Keep country playing on my iPod, remember to put on the foil, and always, always, always, suit up.

-AT

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