Vezina Back With Rio Grande Valley

Published on August 18, 2004 under Central Hockey League (CHL)
Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees News Release


HIDALGO, TX: August 18, 2004 – The Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees of the Central Hockey League already have Jeff Levy under contract for the 2004/2005 season and now have Jacque Vezina returning, as he re-signed with the Killer Bees.

"With Jacque's addition, it gives us the same goaltending tandem as we had last season," said Killer Bees Head Coach/Director of Hockey Operations Tracy Egeland. "It gives us options when we have two goaltenders of this caliber. Jacque played an important role for us last season, earning four shutouts on the road last season, and he will have a chance to play more this season."

Jacque Vezina (jawk vuh-zee-nuh), a 25 year-old native of Hudson, Wisconsin, re-joins the Killer Bees after appearing in 20 games last season and posting a 7-7-3 record with a 2.49 GAA, which ranked 11th in the league. He finished the season with a team co-leading 4 shutouts, which ranked tied for fourth in the CHL. Vezina earned the Vaughn CHL Goaltender of the Week honor for March 8-14th. He also holds the team record for longest scoreless sequence, with a mark of 149:19 from 1/17/04 - 2/14/04. The returning Bee came to the Rio Grande Valley as a rookie last season after closing out a stellar college tenure at the University of Wisconsin - River Falls (UWRF). As a senior in 02/03, Vezina patrolled the pipes for 17 games and compiled a 10-6-1 (W-L-T) record and a low GAA of 1.94 and a save percentage of 92.4% to earn first team All-Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) and All-Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) honors. The psychology major was also named to the NCHA All-Academic team.

The 5'10" 190-pound netminder became UWRF's starting goalie halfway into his freshman season (99/00) and held the position for the season's final 15 games, wrapping up the season with a 12-8-2 record to earn All-NCHA and All-WIAC honorable mention honors. Vezina ranked 9th in the nation his sophomore year (00/01) with a 2.40 GAA and 20th in save percentage with a 90.5% save percentage. He posted a 19-10-2 record and gained first team All-NCHA and ALL-WIAC honors. During his junior season (01/02), Vezina recorded a 16-9-2 record and led the NCHA with a 2.06 GAA (7th in the NCAA). Vezina combined for a 57-33-7 record, 2.34 GAA, 91.5% save percentage and 10 shutouts in 98 games over his college career at UWRF. He leaves the university holding the school record for shutouts (10), games played by a goaltender in a single season (32, 00/01), shutouts in a season (5 01/02), minutes played during a season (1,878 00/01), career minutes played (5,888), while also sharing school records for the lowest career GAA (2.34) and the most games played in net with 98. Vezina also ranks second on the university's all-time list for career wins (57) and career saves (2,476). Success also followed Vezina through his junior career, as he played two seasons (97/98 – 98/99) of American juniors with the Great Falls Americans of the American West Hockey League (AWHL). The 97/98 AWHL First Team All-Star helped lead the Americans to the 1999 AWHL league championship. Vezina posted a 32-13-3 record and set the league record (since surpassed) for wins (32) and minutes played, while also leading the league in save percentage (91.5%) and with a 2.81 GAA during the 98/99 season to earn league MVP honors. Over his career in Great Falls, he won 41 games in 66 appearances with a 2.81 GAA and a 91.6% save percentage.

The signing of Vezina currently gives the Killer Bees 11 players under contract for the 2004/2005 campaign. He joins goaltender Jeff Levy, defensemen Derek Holland, Sean Gillam, Darcy Smith, Jason Tessier, and forwards Blaz Emersic, Matic Kralj, Troy Linna, Bill Newson and Ryan Shmyr. With 20 games as a professional, Vezina qualifies as a "developmental player," and the second developmental player signed by the squad (joins Matic Kralj). CHL rules require each team to have at least five players on their squad who have participated in 128 or fewer professional games, and those players are classified as "developmental players." If you would like to arrange an interview with Jacque Vezina or Head Coach Tracy Egeland, please contact Chris Due at the Killer Bees office.

"The Valley of Bees" will swarm the Dodge Arena again in October, as the Killer Bees are currently preparing for their second season. The puck drops October 23rd for the Killer Bees in Austin and the Bees home opener is scheduled for October 29th against the Laredo Bucks. Season tickets and corporate opportunities are now available by calling the Killer Bees office at (956) 843-7825. For more information concerning Killer Bees hockey, please visit their website at www.killerbeehockey.com.

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Central Hockey League Stories from August 18, 2004


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