Watertown Goaltender Gariepy makes NCAA Commitment

Photo Credit: Sarah Cooper

The Watertown Shamrocks of the North American Hockey League (NAHL) are proud to announce that goaltender Aden Gariepy has committed to play NCAA hockey for Adrian College in the NCHA.

The 6-foot-4 goaltender from Munising, Michigan, will head back to his home state to play in the blue paint for the Bulldogs for this upcoming spring semester. Gariepy is a third-year veteran of the NAHL. This season, the ‘05 goaltender has played between the pipes for the Watertown Shamrocks in five games, starting in November. He secured three wins, spotlighting a .901 save percentage during his time with the South Dakota team. Prior to joining the Central Division team, the Michigan native spent two seasons in the South Division. Last year, Gariepy was a member of the Shreveport Mudbugs. He hit the ice in 25 games for the Louisiana team. He featured two shutouts in back-to-back fashion against the New Mexico Ice Wolves. He first stopped all 22 shots on October 11, 2024, before securing a 15-save shutout on October 12, 2024. In his time with Shreveport, he notched a 2.81 goals-against average with the team. In his rookie season, the netminder joined the Colorado Grit for the second half of the season. He played in the blue paint in 12 games, securing his first taste of the League of Opportunity.

The 20-year-old is also an alumnus of the T1ER, playing with the Biggby Coffee 18U team for two seasons. His 2023-24 campaign with Biggby Coffee featured the Michigan native securing a 1.77 goals-against average and a .928 save percentage. That season, he was also named to the NHL Preliminary Watch List for the 2024 NHL Draft. He was the lone AAA player to be featured on the NHL Preliminary Watch List.

As Gariepy heads to the program, he will already know someone, like his former teammate in Shreveport, Lucas Deeb.

Head coach of the Shamrocks, Casey Kirley, shares more on what it means to see the netminder take the next step in his hockey career.

“We are proud of Aden for his commitment to Adrian. Aden provided a mature and competitive presence on the back end while in Watertown. He has been an incredible teammate, and we look forward to watching him continue to have success at the collegiate level.”

Gariepy is one of four members of the Watertown Shamrocks to make a college ice hockey commitment.

Click here for an updated NAHL to NCAA commitment list