According to former National Hockey League goaltender Gilles Villemure, the same skill set which enabled him to stop hockey pucks also played a key role in him timing the gate and making moves at various Northeastern United States tracks during his days in the racebike

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"I did that (drove standardbreds) in the summertime and played hockey in the wintertime. It was fun," Villemure, 69, was quoted as saying in a recent article on NHL.com. "I raced all over the place, Montreal, Roosevelt, Yonkers, the Meadowlands."

Although patrolling the cage was his main priority during his career on the ice, Villemure still found time to get behind some mounts during the off season. Maybe the action kept his reflexes sharp during the NHL's down time.

"You need timing, you need quickness because when you live at the gate in harness racing, you have to time the gate, when you leave from behind the gate, if you have reflexes then you can get out of the gate quick," he explained. "If you don't have the reflexes, then you lose a couple of steps and as a goaltender you need reflexes, of course. You have to make the right move at the right time."

After a lengthy 10-year career in the minor leagues, Villemure, a native of Trois-Rivières, Quebec, tended goal for the New York Rangers and Chicago Blackhawks in the 1960s and 1970s. He was named co-Vezina Trophy winner for the 1970-71 season along with fellow goaltender Ed Giacomin.

Villemure hung up his skates after the 1976-77 campaign. When he called it a career, Villemure had played in 205 NHL games with 100 wins under his belt, 13 shutouts and a 2.81 career goals-against-average.

(With files from NHL.com)