University of Vermont Athletic Hall of Fame
Sylvain Turcotte 1981 - Hockey
One of the many great hockey goaltenders who have skated for the Catamounts, Sylvain Turcotte, a 1997 UVM Hall of Fame inductee, was a consistent netminder who also excelled off the ice.
Named first-team All-New England after a solid junior season in which he posted a save percentage of .883, Turcotte posted a goals-against average of .350 that year (3.37 in Division I games) and statistically was the second-leading goalie in the region.
A classic stand-up goalie with a great feel for the game, Turcotte was presented with the Wasson Athletic Prize at UVM's Senior Letterwinner's banquet in 1981 for his excellence in academics and athletics.
His goals-against average as a junior of 3.37 stood for many years as a UVM record for Division I goalies. For his career, he played 89 games, posted a save percentage of .870 and career Division I GAA of 4.15.
Turcotte's coach, Hall of Famer Jim Cross, remembers Turcotte well. "We have had a lot of great goalies at UVM," Cross said. "I had them and Mike had them. Sylvain was one of the best. He was a great team man, a terrific student and a great goalie. I remember he got hurt during his senior year, and he handled it so well. When he was healthy, he never pressured me to play him. He just kept working hard and waiting for his time. He worked very hard on his academics, and wanted to succeed in more than hockey. And he has."
Turcotte, a consistent Dean's List student while at UVM, has indeed succeeded in more than hockey. He continued to play hockey in elite senior league tournaments across Quebec and has been very active in youth baseball in Boucherville, serving as a governor of the organization.
