Photo Courtesy: Quinnipiac Athletics
Consistency. It embodies what Quinnipiac men’s ice hockey goalie Michael Garteig has done in his two and a half year career as a starter.
Garteig has steadily improved every year he’s been between the pipes for Rand Pecknold’s squad.
His save percentage has increased .38 points since his sophomore year. He has won at least 20 games the past two seasons and is on pace to eclipse 20 wins easily this season.
On Dec. 4 Garteig earned the 60th win of his career, breaking the program record. He still has half a season to go.
But, Garteig hasn’t always earned the praise he has deserved, as he is truly the best goalie in the NCAA this season. After all it is hard to follow up what Eric Hartzell did his senior season for Quinnipiac in 2012-2013.
However, the stats tell a different story as Garteig replaced Hartzell the next year and did a good job. In fact, he has been better than Hartzell.
In ’12-’13 Hartzell stats were godly, winning 30 games, sporting a 1.57 goals against average (GAA) to go along with a .933 save percentage.
Hartzell’s jaw dropping season earned him All ECAC Hockey first team honors and he was a finalist for the Hobey Baker award.
But, let’s take a look under the microscope and break down Hartzell’s numbers a little further.
The Bobcats on average gave up 24 shots per game in ’12-’13. In 27 games where Hartzell faced 25 shots or less he had an excellent record going 20-5-2.
But, in these games Hartzell faced 479 shots, an average of 18 shots per game and let in 2.2 goals per game (GPG).
There is no doubt that Hartzell had one of the best years a goalie could possibly have. But, the defense in front of him played excellent as well.
Players such as Mike Dalhuisen, Zach Davies and Loren Barron anchored the defense in front of Hartzell holding down a handful of potent offenses.
Davies, Barron, Dalhuisen and the rest of the defense held three dangerous offenses (Robert Morris 3.11 GPG, Colgate 3.03 GPG, Union 3.08 GPG) during the 27-game stretch to 126 shots, an average of 16 per game.
Despite Hartzell’s career year, his numbers during his three-year career as a starter are comparable to Garteig’s.
Hartzell didn’t see a full body of work his freshman season only appearing in six games. In his sophomore season he went 12-7-6 sporting a 2.22 GAA to go along with a .927 save percentage. In his junior season, Hartzell went 12-11-6 with a 2.20 GAA and a .913 save percentage, pretty much the same.
Now let’s examine Garteig’s career to this point.
He came to Quinnipiac a proven winner as he compiled 92 career wins in juniors including an impressive 31-game win streak.
In his freshman season, Garteig won 24 games owned a 1.94 GAA and a .910 save percentage. He followed up his impressive first season winning 22 games posting a 2.03 GAA and a .917 save percentage.
There was a bit of a dip in production from Garteig’s sophomore to junior season, but it’s the leap he has made this season that has put him in a league of his own.
Through 18 games this season, Garteig has won 15 and only lost one. He has already matched his single season shutout record with six, owns a microscopic 1.24 GAA and a .948 save percentage.
Garteig has been lights out for the Bobcats this season and he has certainly been in the conversation for player of year.
College Hockey News ECAC reporter, Josh Seguin, believes Garteig has been the best goaltender in the country this season.
Seguin sees improvements in Garteig’s positioning, something Seguin believes separates the elite goalies from the rest of the bunch.
Quinnipiac goalie coach, Jared Waimon, has also seen improvements in Garteig’s focus. In an interview with Q30’s Victoria Rutigliano, Waimon said Garteig is making more decisive decisions and his confidence has increased.
The senior is on pace to break every statistic Hartzell posted his senior season.
Here is how he matches up with Hartzell through the first eighteen games of each of their senior seasons.
Garteig has made 400 saves while only conceding 22 goals, good for a 1.24 GAA. Hartzell made only 360 saves while conceding 25 goals, good for a 1.38 GAA.
The numbers don’t lie, Garteig has slightly outperformed Hartzell to this point. The senior also has six shutouts at this point whereas Hartzell had four.
For Garteig, he has proven that he can play and beat the best (4-0-3 against Yale All-American goalie Alex Lyon) and his play the rest of the season will determine how far Quinnipiac will go.
Garteig has already proven more consistent than Hartzell. If there is any argument left over who is better, Garteig can end it by winning that National Championship that eluded the Hartzell three years ago.
