Mat Ouellet is in his second season in the GOJHL as a goaltender with the Strathroy Rockets of the Western Conference.  Mat is from Whitby, Ontario and is the son of Gilles & Julie Ouellet and brother to Ashley.  This season, Mat is living in Strathroy with Rockets captain Matt Laberge.

Last season, Mat joined the Rockets from the Cobourg Cougars of the Ontario Junior Hockey League.  “I had played in Cobourg with Stuart King and he had talked about how great it is in Strathroy and the GOJHL, so last season I came down here with him, Mark MacAulay, and Kieran Milne.  My time in Strathroy has been great.  The fans are fantastic.  When we step on the ice and hear the cowbells, no matter what arena we’re in, it just makes us want to play better and play harder for them.”

In his first season, Mat was the Rockets main goalie and set the team record for most games played by a goaltender in a season at 42.  He also led the entire GOJHL in most minutes played at 2389:20.  This season, if possible, he’d like to break both of those records and he’s hoping to be a top goalie in the league and to carry the Rockets as far as he can in the play-offs.

Outside of the rink, Mat is a DJ, known as DJ Ouu, playing shows in Toronto.  He also has a thyroid cancer ribbon on the back of his goalie helmet.  He says that it’s for his cousin who he’s very close with.  She has beaten cancer and is now in remission.

Photo Credit: Colleen Wiendels Photography