Behind every great hockey team, is a stellar goalie between the pipes. The Alpena hockey team was exceptional this year, due in large part to the spectacular play of Wildcats goalie Aidan Schultz.
The 6-4 senior netminder put together a special season and was the anchor of Alpena’s storybook season.
On Wednesday, Schultz committed to Northwood University, where he will continue his hockey career with the Timberwolves.
His work during the 2022-2023 season garnered a lot of interest from college and junior hockey scouts
“Northwood had reached out to me a lot in the past few months. Originally, I had decided I was going to be completely done with hockey. I Told everyone no, all the way from AAA teams to junior teams to college teams,” Schultz said. “Northwood didn’t stop reaching out and gave me lots of time to decide. I wasn’t too interested in going the route others typically do to play at a high level. I didn’t want to play three years of juniors then four more at college. So after a lot of thinking I decided to commit to Northwood for hockey and academics.”
Schultz was fantastic during his senior campaign, going 20-2 overall and recorded eight shut outs, which was just one shy of a school record as he ranks second in program history for shut outs in a single season and he finished with a .925 save percentage, while earning much-deserved honors including, First Team All-State honor in Division 2, Top 10 goalie in Michigan (via statechamps), most wins in Michigan high school hockey during the 2022-2023 regular season, Second Team All-Big North Conference and shared team defensemen of the year (voted on by head coach Ben Henry).
“Coach Taylor Carey from Gaylord was on staff this year for our high school team. Ever since freshman year, I’ve been working with him. He has a lot of experience and knowledge as he works with kids like Cooper Black,” Schultz said. “While getting better from great coaching and just having lots of fun, my skill has been recognized a ton by others. Having the town behind us this year was one of the best feelings and something I’ll never forget.”
Northwood is a member of the Michigan Collegiate Hockey Conference (MCHC) which is a American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) Division 3 conference, made up of smaller colleges and universities in the state of Michigan.
The MCHC has produced eleven National Championship teams, the most of any Division 3 conference, along with nine National Runner-Ups.
“I haven’t been so sure on how long I want to go to college for and especially if I wanted to keep playing or not,” Schultz said. “After all, I’ve decided to play for a college. Playing this level of hockey allows me to really focus on academics while having fun with the team during the school year with the hopes of winning a National title with this team and having lots of fun.”
Schultz will be attending Northwood to continue his hockey career while studying to obtain a business management degree.
“I’d like to thank my family, coaches and Northwood University, along with the Alpena community for pushing our team to do our best,” Schultz said. “Again, a huge thanks to the community for coming together and surrounding us this year.”
