Published: Thursday, October 21, 2010, 10:19 PM Updated: Thursday, October 21, 2010, 10:24 PM
Ron Rop | The Muskegon Chronicle
Follow Share this story
Story tools
When you live as far “up north” as Joel Vienneau, there are certain things you can be assured of finding in your hometown.
Cold weather, plenty of snow, pond hockey, good hunting and excellent fishing are all traits of Hearst, Ont., a small town of less than 6,000 people and a “long drive to everywhere.” Hearst is a 12-hour drive north of Muskegon.
Vienneau, the No. 1 goaltender for Muskegon Lumberjacks of the United States Hockey League, is pursuing his dream of playing hockey, but he also misses his time back home in the great outdoors.
“I love to be in the bush to hunt and fish,” Vienneau said.
Among his targets while fishing are walleye, pike and smallmouth bass. Hunting season brings moose, birds and bears. At the age of 14, he bagged a calf moose that tipped the scales at more than 300 pounds.
“The last three years I’ve been playing juniors so there’s no time to hunt and fish,” said Vienneau, who started playing goaltender at the age of 5.
Vienneau is expected to be in net at 7:15 p.m. Saturday when the Jacks host the Indiana Ice.
“We’re only five games into the season,” Vienneau said. “It would be good to get that first home win.”
Vienneau has his sights set pretty high in hockey. He’s commited to playing at the University of Minnesota and he’s hoping to hear his name called next summer when the National Hockey League conducts its annual Entry Draft.
Vienneau, 6-foot-3, 190 pounds, reached as high as No. 14 on the NHL Central Scouting report, but his name wasn’t called during this past year’s draft. That was a disappointment, but he’s determined to keep working.
“I need to play good to be ranked and Muskegon is the place to do it,” Vienneau said. “I just have to play good and keep winning.”
Last season, he led the Kingston Voyageurs to the playoff finals, where they lost in overtime of Game 7. During the regular season, he was 27-4-1 with a .928 save percentage.
“We did good, I think we lost eight games all year,” said Vienneau, who attended an offseason goaltender’s camp in Nashville, Tenn.
That success prompted a phone call from the expansion Lumberjacks.
“We firmly believed when we recruited him and offered him a tender that he had the talent and the ability to be our starter,” Lumberjack coach Kevin Patrick said. Vienneau was one of six players who were signed prior to the USHL draft.
Thus far, Vienneau has played in every game and posted a 1-3-1 record and a 3.98 goals-against-average. Despite the elevated GAA, the last two games have been stellar.
He blanked Sioux City last Friday on 19 shots and allowed two goals in a 2-1 setback the next evening in Fargo.
“His timing and his confidence continue to grow,” Patrick said. “Joel is a talented goaltender who has excellent size and athletic ability in the net. We look for him to be the backbone of our defense.”
No comments:
Post a Comment