Steinbach, Niverville players announce USports, NCAA division 3 commitments
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Graduating players from the Steinbach Pistons and Niverville Nighthawks continue to announce where they will be playing hockey next season.
Steinbach captain Noah Szabo will be headed to the University of Windsor to play for the Lancers. The Lancers play in the Ontario University Athletics conference, last making the national championship tournament in 2023.
Szabo, who was born in St Thomas, Ont. played 136 games with the Pistons, including during the team’s 2023 Turnbull Cup-winning campaign.
He scored 100 points with the team during his time in the Automobile City, peaking last year with 44 points in 47 games.
Goaltender Christian Green is a more recent addition to the Pistons, joining for only a single season. He’s moving on to play NCAA division three hockey with the Neumann University Knights.
The Pennsylvania-born goaltender joined Steinbach this off-season after a season with the Okotoks Oilers in the Alberta league, claiming the Pistons’ starting job from the beginning of the season.
He started 45 games for Steinbach this season, nabbing 33 wins while posting a 0.918 save percentage and five shutouts.
Neumann University is a Catholic school based in Green’s home state of Pennsylvania.
Brayden Barnett, who joined the Pistons after playing both U18 and WHL hockey in Regina, is heading right back to the The Queen City to continue his hockey career in Canada West.
Barnett, who won Steinbach’s fan favourite award this season thanks to his tough style of play and willingness to drop the gloves, will be playing for the University of Regina Cougars. Serving as a Pistons assistant captain, he had 24 points and 102 penalty minutes this season, even getting a celebratory cake to mark the latter number after the final game of the regular season.
The Niverville Nighthawks captain for this season, Carter Spirig, is also set to continue his hockey career in his home province.
The Alberta-born forward has been with the Nighthawks since the team’s first season, appearing in 168 games for the franchise while posting 72 points.
Spirig will be attending the University of Alberta-Augustana to play for the Vikings. The Camrose-based university play in the Alberta College Athletics Conference.
