DAYTON, OH – Retirement just doesn’t suit some guys.
The indestructible goaltender who helped the Watertown Wolves win the Commissioner’s Cup in their inaugural season last year is back, this time in the net with the Dayton Demolition.
“I was debating retirement,” Jo St. Pierre said. “Then had some heart issues so I felt I had no choice. Then I got cleared and got an itch.”
St. Pierre had spoken to a few other teams before getting a call in January from Joe Pace Sr., new head coach and GM for the Demolition. “Pace Sr. just messaged me to see what I was doing and had Chad Bennett message me also. They ended up having the best deal for me.”
Pace described how he communicated with St. Pierre to recruit him. “Hey, coach Joe here,” Pace recalls. “I took over in Dayton. I want you to come win us a championship!”
In 2012 a major knee injury forced him to quit the Danville Dashers after only six games. He was questionable to ever play again, but didn’t want to retire due to injury. “I didn’t want to live always thinking about the what-ifs,” St. Pierre said. Intensive physical therapy and a strong desire to compete saw him return to Danville in February of 2014 to the delight of Dashers’ fans. “You’re the ones who brought me back,” he told the fans in a Dashers’ press release. “You made it possible.”
Jo made a special friend in Danville that year, a young man named Tanner. Five years old that season and battling Leukemia, the tough youngster won Jo’s heart and St. Pierre had a special logo made for his helmet in support of Team Tanner. He wore it all the rest of that season, and in Watertown as well. PHN reported on the special friendship in a feature story:
https://prohockeynews.com/the-goalie-and-tanner-man/
We asked Tanner’s mother, Beth Haurez, how Tanner is doing. Now 7, Tanner is staying healthy and has about 18 months of treatment left. He is an Upward basketball player and straight-A first grader.
“My favorite memory of Jo is when he took me in the Watertown locker room,” says Tanner. “He gave me a stocking cap.”
Despite the loss of the last 4 games, Dayton has mounted some momentum since the new ownership took over with Pace in the driver’s seat. St. Pierre says the team is optimistic about a playoff run despite a rocky first half of the season. “It’s hard to tell after just one weekend,” he remarked. “We still have a few pieces missing for a good playoff push but we’re going in the right direction.”
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