Oliver Paipoonge, ON - The Kam River Fighting Walleye would like to congratulate goaltender Austin Madge on his commitment to the University of Oregon ACHA division 1 hockey program.
“I’m very excited to be joining the University of Oregon and being a part of their first division one program,” said Madge. “I’m happy to be continuing my passion for the game I grew up loving, as well as getting an education and furthering my life skills. The Kam River organization has helped me not only in hockey but as a person and allowed me to grow and mature,” he added.
Fighting Walleye general manager Kevin McCallum is proud to see the 20 year old goaltender take the next step in his hockey career. “Any time we see one of our players achieve his goals via our program, it is a feather in our cap,” McCallum said. “We are very excited for Austin to become a member of the Oregon Ducks. When their coach reached out he asked for a legit number one to guard his net and he has gotten a good one.”
The 2001-born Madge, from Kelowna, BC, currently leads the SIJHL in all goaltending categories, with 14 wins, 1.90 goals against average, 0.945 save percentage, and 3 shutouts in 15 games played.
“I'm extremely proud of Austin and how much he's grown as a player and person over the past year or so,” said Walleye head coach Matt Valley. “It's really cool to see all his hard work and determination pay off. He's a talented and tenacious person who is playing very well and is being recognized for that. I know that he's had several schools interested in him and it's nice to see him decide on one,” Valley said.
Madge becomes the 2nd member of the Fighting Walleye to commit to a college hockey program this season, with several more Kam River players expected to announce their future career intentions in the coming weeks.
“When we recruit players, one of the first things we let them know is that they will play college hockey if they wish to. We bring in elite people, and college coaches know right away when we call they are getting an outstanding individual,” McCallum concluded.