Born in
Niagara Falls, Ontario, Pietrangelo played for the
University of Minnesota between 1982 and 1986. He started his
National Hockey League career with the
Pittsburgh Penguins in
1988, winning the
Stanley Cup in 1991. He also played for the
Hartford Whalers. He left the NHL after the
1994 season. He played several more years in the
IHL with the
Minnesota Moose, Italy with
HC Bolzano and
Asiago Hockey AS,
Germany in the
DEL with
Kaufbeurer Adler, and England in the
BISL with the
Manchester Storm before retiring after the 2001 season. He was named the
Sekonda Face to Watch while playing for Manchester in December 1998. Pietrangelo played in the
1991 Stanley Cup playoffs in place of injured Penguins' starting goaltender
Tom Barrasso. In game six of the opening round against the
New Jersey Devils, he helped the Penguins stave off elimination with one of the most significant stops in Stanley Cup history, a glove save against
Peter Stastny, who was shooting at a mostly-open net at point-blank range. He helped the Penguins win the game and keep them alive in the series. He then shut the Devils out in game 7 to allow the team to advance to the next round, Barrasso to heal, and the Penguins to go on to win the
Stanley Cup for the first time, beating the
Minnesota North Stars. Pietrangelo is cousin once-removed to NHL defenceman
Alex Pietrangelo. ==Career statistics==