Powassan Voodoos defenceman James Vuillemot has committed to the Western New England Golden Bears NCAA Division III team for the upcoming 2015-16 season.
The 6'3, 225 pound defenceman from Virginia will join the Golden Bears who play in the competitive ECAC conference.
"I'm very excited to be playing at Western New England next year," stated Vuillemot who made the trek to Springfield, Massachusetts last week on a school visit.
"I look forward to the challenge of playing in the NCAA."
Vuillemot is the second Voodoos player in the past week to commit to an NCAA hockey team. Voodoos Goaltender Matt Young committed to Finlandia University, based of out Hancock, Michigan last Thursday.
Vuillemot and Young both joined the Voodoos in a trade with the Cochrane Crunch in October. In that trade the Voodoos shipped goaltender and Sturgeon Falls native Ben Auger to the Crunch in exchange for the two graduating players.
In 26 games this season, the 20-year-old has 1 goal along with 4 assists.
"James has had to battle through some injuries this year but we as an organization are thrilled to hear we will be having another one of our student-athletes moving on to the NCAA," stated Voodoos GM and VP of Hockey Operations Chris Dawson.
"We are very proud of James' accomplishment and we are hopeful another 4 or 5 of our younger players will be able to make the jump to the Ontario Hockey League next fall," added Dawson about the Voodoos team which is an affiliate team of the North Bay Battalion.
Vuillemot, Young and the rest of the Voodoos will be back on the ice Wednesday night when they host the Mattawa Blackhawks. Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. at the Powassan Sportsplex.
