Vincent Hughes (ice hockey)

Vincent Hughes (born 10 August 1981) is an Australian ice hockey player currently playing for the Melbourne Ice in the Australian Ice Hockey League.

Playing career

Hughes first played for the Melbourne Saints of the Victorian Ice Hockey Association in the 2000 season. He continued to play for the Saints until the end of the 2002 season. Following the end of the 2002 season with the Saints, Hughes moved to Germany and signed with EV Dingolfing of the Bayernliga for the start of the 2002–03 season. He competed in 13 games for EV Dingolfing before being traded to ERC Lechbruck of the same league. Hughes finished off the season with Lechbruck, competing in 11 games and scoring nine points. Following the end of the season, Hughes returned to Australia and joined the Melbourne Jets of the Victorian Ice Hockey Association for the 2003 season. In 2004, he was signed by the Melbourne Ice of the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL). In his first season with the Ice, Hughes competed in 16 games and amassed 98 penalties in minutes but failed to score any points. Hughes has continued to play for the Ice in the AIHL and in the Victorian Ice Hockey Association's top senior competition for the Jets until the end of 2008 and then for the Melbourne Rangers from 2009 onwards. In 2011, Hughes was named captain of the Melbourne Ice.

Hughes was first called up to represent Australia in 2000, where he joined the national under-20 team to compete in the 2000 IIHF World U20 Championship Pool D tournament being held in Reykjavík, Iceland. Australia finished seventh while Hughes finished with two assists in his four games. In 2002, Hughes moved up to the national senior team to compete in the 2002 IIHF World Championship Division II Group A tournament being held in Cape Town, South Africa. Hughes scored two goals and an assist in his five games while Australia finished the tournament in fourth place. The following year Hughes was again called up to the national senior team to compete in the 2003 IIHF World Championship Division II Group A tournament being held in Seoul, South Korea. Australia again finished fourth while Hughes failed to score any points in his five games.

Personal life

Hughes was born on 10 August 1981 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. His brother Joseph also plays ice hockey for the Melbourne Ice.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International