The Neepawa Natives would like to congratulate 20 year old defenseman Austin Hingtgen who has recently committed to St. John’s Johnnies of NCAA’s III, Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC). Austin is the first graduating player of the Neepawa Natives to move on to the next level this year.
Austin has recently committed to St. John’s University for the 2016-2017 season. Located in Collegeville, Minnesota, the Johnnies have been MIAC Champions five times, with the most recent championship in 2013. The 2015-2016 season was an exceptional season for St. John’s as they finished one win short of first place with a MIAC record of 10-4-2-1.
Hingtgen was acquired by Neepawa early on in the season, playing an important role in both the community and with the hockey club. Austin shared his journey of achieving his college goal, ” I would like to thank my family, there’s no way I would be where I am today without them.” He also expressed appreciation for many of his former teammates, coaches, and others who had helped him throughout his hockey career. Further gratitude was expressed about the Natives organization, “I would also like to thank the Natives management, teammates, and my billet mom (Mary Ellen Clark) who had given me an opportunity to play great hockey and achieve my goal of playing college hockey.” Austin who plans on studying Biomedical Science had expressed his enthusiasm for playing with the Johnnies next season, “After visits to multiple schools, St. John’s stuck out as the best fit for me. I really liked the atmosphere around the school and the team, and I am excited to contribute to the teams winning tradition.”
Head coach of St. John’s, Doug Schueller, had also express his praise for his recent recruit. “Here at SJU we look for players that are competitive, coachable, and most importantly have character. We felt that Austin showed all those characteristics and we are excited to see what he can accomplish here at SJU.”
“We had a great visit with Austin when he visited our campus and I believe he will fit in well with our team.”
As one of the few graduating players last year, Austin accumulated five goals and five assists in 44 games this season. The Williston, North Dakota native played an important role with our organization and community last season and we would like to wish Austin future success with the Johnnies.