Submitted by: Neepawa Natives
The Neepawa Natives would like to congratulate 20 year old goaltender Tyler Gutenberg who has recently committed to the University of Calgary Dinos of USports – Canada West University Athletic Association, for the 2017-2018 season.
Located in Calgary, Alberta, the Dinos have been among the top Canada West University Athletic Association performers the last several years. The Dinos have most recently placed third under former CIS coach of the Year, Mark Howell. The aforementioned season was exceptional as Calgary finished one point shy of second place with a record of 18-10.
Gutenberg was acquired by Neepawa during the 2015-2016 season, playing a significant role in both the community and with the hockey club the last two seasons. Tyler recently shared his journey of achieving his college goal, “Neepawa truly is a first class organization, and without all of the people that help make it that special this opportunity for myself would not have been possible. Last season was amazing seeing the community come together in our playoff run, and just really getting behind the team all year to give us the confidence to succeed.”
The twenty year old shared his fondness for his teammates and staff as well, “I couldn’t have asked for a better group of guys to spend my final junior season with. It was one of the closest teams I have been a part of, and without all of them this would not have been possible. I made a lot of great friendships in my time in Neepawa that I will cherish forever. The countless hours that Dustin, Myles, Ryan, Byron, Derek and the entire staff put in every year gives the players every opportunity to succeed as a team and the ultimate goal of winning a championship. I can’t wait to see what success the Natives will have in the next few seasons.”
Tyler continued his praise for the team’s billet coordinator, Mary Ellen Clark. “I can’t thank Mary Ellen (Clark) enough either for being an amazing billet and making everyone feel like one of her own. She is the most caring and nicest person I have ever met. The amount of hours she puts in to the Natives, from the lottery to finding billets and everything in between is truly remarkable. Couldn’t have asked for a better billet for my time in Neepawa.”
As one of two graduating players last year, Gutenberg played in 35 games and posted a 3.31 GAA and a .903 save percentage. His stellar regular season play helped lead the Natives to the post season where he helped the Natives claim two wins and a 0.927 save percentage in a hard fought six game series against the Steinbach Pistons.
Next season Tyler will be in the Faculty of Arts focusing on sciences, and planning to move to the Faculty of Science and graduate with a Bachelor of Science, majoring in biology or chemistry. The Neepawa Natives would like to thank Tyler for his services, and would like to wish the Brandon, MB native and the Calgary Dinos future success in the coming season.