MIAC Release

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – Eight Saint John's University hockey student-athletes received MIAC honors and Doug Schueller was named the MIAC Coach of the Year for the second time on Tuesday, March 10.

SJU landed six student-athletes on the 20-man All-MIAC first team: senior forward Brady Heppner (Crookston, Minn.), senior goaltender Andrew Lindgren (Minneapolis, Minn.), senior forward Kyle Wagner (St. Francis, Minn.), junior defenseman Jake Dittel (White Bear Lake, Minn.) and freshman forwards Jack Johnson (Bemidji, Minn.) and Auggie Moore (Edina, Minn.).

Johnson and Moore were joined on the six-man MIAC All-Rookie team by freshman defenseman Peter Tabor (Edina, Minn.).

Junior defenseman Travis Brown (Otsego, Minn.) was named All-MIAC honorable mention and senior defenseman Adam Orn (Ramsey, Minn.) was named to the MIAC All-Sportsmanship team. 

The first-team honors are the third consecutive for Heppner and Lindgren, and the second for Dittel and Wagner. The six honorees are the most for SJU since 2004-05 (6).

Schueller directed the Johnnies to a 9-3-4 record (12-9-5 overall) and the MIAC regular-season championship this season, the program's first since 2013, thanks to an 8-2 mark over the final 10 conference games (6-0 on the road). It was the third consecutive MIAC Playoff appearance, and seventh overall, for the Johnnies under Schueller. SJU has won 10 games or more each of the last nine seasons. 

Heppner tallied 14 points (5g/9a) in 16 conference games to finish 10th in conference scoring. He played all 26 games overall and finished with 21 points (8g/13a), including a career-high 13 assists. Heppner ended his career with 82 points (42g/40a), including five game-winning goals and five shorthanded tallies, in 99 games played. He signed a professional contract with the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs, a member of the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL), March 5 and recorded two assists in his pro debut - a 6-5 win - the following evening (March 6). 

Lindgren finished second in the MIAC in both save percentage (.933) and winning percentage (.708, 8-3-1 record), and third in GAA (2.30) in conference play. He ended his career second in school history in save percentage (.926), fourth in GAA (2.28) and shutouts (5), and seventh in wins (32-23-9 record).

Wagner's 12 assists tied for third in conference play, and his 15 points (3g/12a) tied for eighth. He played all 26 games and led the Johnnies in assists (18), while finishing second in points (24). Wagner ended his career with 77 points (16g/61a) in 104 games played and joined Heppner in Roanoke March 6. He has four points (1g/3a) in his first three professional games, including the game-winning goal in his debut.

Dittel posted nine points, all assists, in 13 conference games to tie for seventh among the conference's defensemen. He finished with 13 points (0g/13a) in 18 games overall. 

Moore led all MIAC freshmen in points (21), which were good for third among all skaters, and tied for second in goals (10) in conference play. His four game-winning goals also led the league. Overall, Moore led the Johnnies in goals (11) and points (27), the most points by an SJU freshman since John Haeg '15 recorded 27 points (7g/20a) in 2011-12, in 25 games. He tallied 14 points (6g/8a) in the season's final nine games.

Johnson finished second, behind Moore, among MIAC freshmen and fifth overall with 17 points (7g/10a) in conference play. He registered eight points (3g/5a) over the Johnnies' final five games and ended with 22 (7g/15a) in 23 contests. 

Tabor played all 26 games at the blue line and posted four points (1g/3a) in league play, nine points (3g/6a) overall, and led SJU with two shorthanded goals.  

Brown tied for fourth in the MIAC with three power-play goals and tied Dittel for seventh among defensemen with nine points (4g/5a) in MIAC games. He played all 26 games and tallied 13 points (7g/6a), as well as goals Nov. 9 (at Bethel) and Dec. 10 (vs. Hamline) during the extra 3-on-3 overtime that did not count in the statistics. 

Orn finished with 12 points (2g/10a) in 26 games played and tied for second on the team with a plus/minus ratio of +6. He accumulated 31 points (5g/26a) in 90 career games.

SJU tied for first in the MIAC in scoring defense (2.19 gpg.), finished second in scoring offense (3.44 gpg.) and third in combined special teams (52.1 percent, 74-for-142) in conference play.