Posted by Gayle Simone, Sun Staff

Sorry it took so long to put up part 2 of my convo with Stephen Gionta, but let's put it this way, I was not in perfect health last week. But here it is....

Growing up in Rochester, N.Y., Gionta wasn't a Rangers, Islanders or Sabres fan.

"I followed the Detroit Red Wings, I never went with the local teams," Gionta said. "I was always a Red Wings fan growing up, but I always went to the Sabres games with friends and family."

Playing professional hockey has changed Gionta's mind when it comes to his favorite team.

"No, no, I'm not a Detroit fan anymore," Gionta explained. "Now, I just watch hockey to watch hockey."

Gionta does however hold one team near and dear to heart these days – the New Jersey Devils.

"I definitely root for my brother," Gionta said. "I want to see him succeed and see him get another Stanley Cup and now being with the organization you want them to do well."

Gionta not only looks up to his brother, but to a few of his own teammates in Lowell.

“It’s great,” Gionta said. “Dan McGillis, Grant Marshall, Mike Mottau; those guys played pro and I used to watch Marshall and McGillis, I’m not going to say growing up, but when I was a little bit older I used to watch those guys and it’s great playing with them and learning from them.”

McGillis is the captain of the Devils and he and the other veterans have shown the younger players the operations of professional hockey.

“They can teach you, they can show you the ropes and how to get to the next level,” Gionta explained. “It’s great to have those guys here, unfortunate for their situations, but it’s great for me to learn from these guys every day. The work ethic it takes to get to the next level and well they compete day in and day out. It’s tremendous to see their competitiveness every day and that’s something you can learn from the older guys, to see what you need to do to get to the next level because they have been there. It’s definitely nice for myself to learn from those guys.”

In 59 games played, Gionta has recorded 5 goals and 8 assists.

“I’ve gotten my scoring chances this year,” Gionta said. “I just haven’t bared down on it as much as I would have liked, but as long as we’re winning and we’re moving on it’s really not a big deal. That’s kind of a minor thing because those goals will come. I will keep getting scoring chances, they come in bunches so hopefully they’ll keep coming. It is a little tougher, the goalies are better and bigger, they’re more athletic and you have to be able to pick the spots and you have to get some good bounces too. Hopefully, they’ll start coming for me.”

Gionta isn’t discouraged with the amount of fans showing up at the Tsongas and appreciates those that have supported the team.

“Since the football season ended we’ve been getting bigger crowds,” Gionta said. “I don’t think we’ve sold out the arena this year but the fans that have come out have been great. It’s tough when you have a NHL club 20 minutes from here, the Bruins are a big part of Massachusetts and the area around it and people are very supportive of that team. That’s great to see that and it would be nice to hopefully get some more fans at the end of the season as we push for playoffs and hopefully next year people will know who we are. We’re kind of new this ear and hopefully we can get some more people next year.”

The Devils are currently in fifth place in the Atlantic Division with 79 points. Only the top four teams in each division make the playoffs. The Worcester Sharks currently hold the final playoff spot with 81 points. Providence is in third with 82 points. Lowell has 10 games left is pushing for one of the two final playoff spots.

Photos courtesy of the Lowell Devils.