The Puck Stops in Shorewood

The Lamoreaux's are a hockey family.

With five hockey players in the family, it's no wonder 12-year-old Joey Lamoreaux has come to love not only hockey, but sports in general.

The all-around athlete plays soccer year-round for the Milwaukee youth soccer team, the North Shore Arsenal, baseball in Shorewood Little League with the Tampa Bay Rays — but it's all supplemental to hockey.

Joey says soccer serves as good practice for hockey, and baseball is fun, but performing a quick poke check or covering the puck from August to February as the youth 99ers' goalie, as part of the Milwaukee Junior Admirals club, is the real deal.

He describes being the goalie as “a way to stay in on the action."

"You get lots of playing time and you kind of control the game," he said.

Strategy and dedication

It's Joey's strategy that makes him a top-notch goalie and recently earned him a spot on a Minnesota team, in an international hockey tournament, where was named the No. 1 tournament goalie.

“Watch the puck," he said. "You can tell where it’s going and what it’s going to do by how it comes off the stick.”

The Canadian tournament included teams from the U.S., Canada and Russia. There were 20 teams in the tourney, and his team ended up taking 2nd place.

But, Joey says one of his fondest memories was at a recent elimination tournament in Chicago.

"The score was 3-3 and the guy passed it to the center and took the shot," he said. "I had my glove out and the puck flew right in — I one-timed it right in my glove.”

Family supports sports

Joey comes from a household dedicated to sports.

He started skating at age 2, and ice hockey at 8. His first memory of learning to skate is at Milwaukee’s Lagoon, with family.

His mother Shelley Lamoreaux said that the backyard is frequently turned into an ice rink in winter, with lights and music, “making it fun for everyone and which now attracts players from around Milwaukee, giving them some practice space.”

And, the whole family participates in hockey in some way.

“Having a kid in hockey isn’t all that easy to manage and I have three, plus my husband plays, and I play sometimes, " Shelley said. "It is really fun, and with all the gear on, it's amazing what you can do.

"You feel very safe to try things you wouldn’t normally, like skating really fast, turning around as fast as you can, and stopping suddenly. It's exhilarating.”

Joey’s sisters play with the University School-based winter club, which practices at the Milwaukee School of Engineering Kern Center and the University School rinks and starts at age 4 and goes up to eighth grade.

As the family has filled their love for hockey, its basement has filled with gear.

“We have a room in the basement for just our hockey gear,” Joey said. “It doesn’t smell that great.” 

Shelley nodded, adding that they have all upgraded their cleaning of all the equipment.

"It is a ton of stuff," she said. "For us, we can fit the three kids and their hockey bags in our van and not much else."

Travel is a significant part of the Lamoreaux sports experience.

"There are only so many rinks in Milwaukee," she said. 

The Junior Admirals skate locally at the Pettit Ice Center, but travel to compete with clubs in Madison, Chicago, Green Bay, St. Louis, Detroit and next year will face teams in Dallas and Cleveland.

“Carpooling is a necessity at this level of play,” Shelley said.

Unlike other sports, hockey can take almost an hour to suit up, and another to take off layers of gear, which inspires game debriefing and planning for the next. 

“There is no escaping right after the game," Shelley said. "The kids and parents get to know each other very, very well."

Future play, representing Shorewood

Joey is heading into his first year at Shorewood Intermediate School, but is looking forward to getting to the high school ranks, where he plans to play in a new co-ed hockey co-op started by District Athletic Director Bill Haury.

Haury has a life-long love of the sport, and still plays and referees the sport in his spare time. The WNS Storm is a hockey team with players from Whitefish Bay, Nicolet and Shorewood. The group plays locally, and Joey is excited to make an impact and represent Shorewood in this new group effort.