Former Quinnipiac men’s ice hockey goaltender Michael Garteig sat down with QBSN’s Tyler Brosious to reflect on his career at Quinnipiac and discuss signing with the Vancouver Canucks.
Making it to the NHL level is what youngsters dream of when they’re skating on frozen ponds in Canada or firing wrist shots at garage doors in California.
For former Quinnipiac men’s ice hockey goaltender Michael Garteig, who laced up his first pair of skates when he was just five years old, his dream came true Friday afternoon when he signed an entry-level contract with the Vancouver Canucks.
“I talked to a lot of teams. It wasn’t like I had one offer. I had options,” Garteig said. “My advisors and I took our time with everything. We made sure we went through the whole process, what was going to fit for me the best. At the end of the day Vancouver was obviously the best fit.”
Garteig will return home to British Columbia and play for his hometown Canucks.
This opportunity means a lot to the goaltender who grew up a fan of all hockey, but was especially a fan of the ones who call the country north of the border home.
“Of course I’m going to go into camp and do everything I can to make a great impression and make the team,” Garteig said. “But at the same time, I’ll be able to go home and spend a lot of time with my family.”
The Prince George native has not been home much since he arrived to Quinnipiac’s campus in the fall of 2012.
Over the past three years, Garteig has only spent as much as a month at home before returning to Hamden to improve his skills as the team’s No. 1 goaltender.
The hard work payed off however, as Garteig capped off an amazing career at Quinnipiac with a truly special senior season.
Notching a 32-4-7 record with a 1.91 goals-against average and a .924 save percentage this season, Garteig was a pivotal piece of this Quinnipiac team.
“I had fun playing hockey my senior year. If you lose only four games in the entire year, you’re going to have fun,” Garteig said. “Then I get to play with a group of guys who are just unbelievable. These guys are so special to me. It’s so hard for me to let go of it all.”
The 32 wins and eight shutouts set program records for Quinnipiac as he also added career wins (78), career shutouts (19), and goals-against average (1.69) to his list of records he will have when he leaves Quinnipiac.
But Garteig’s collegiate career did not start out as planned.
Coming off a strong year in juniors in Canada, the goaltender expected to start for the Bobcats in his freshman season.
But Garteig was backing up Eric Hartzell, who had a career year for the Bobcats and led them to a national championship game in his senior season.
“I got a reality check and a slap in the face. I was playing behind arguably the best player in college hockey that year in Eric Hartzell, and you can only do so much in that situation. I think I handled it pretty well,” Garteig said. “I worked so hard. I did everything I could to get better, to make sure once I got the opportunity I would never let go of it.”
And Garteig held true to his word.
He was given the starting job his sophomore year when Hartzell graduated and signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Garteig quickly adapted into a workhorse for Quinnipiac in his first year as the team’s starting goaltender. Garteig started all 40 games for the Bobcats, winning 24 of them for the blue and gold.
“Sophomore year I played every game but I don’t think I was really that ready,” Garteig said. “I mean my numbers weren’t that good. I started really strong but then it tapered off.”
Junior year, Garteig faced critics and harsh comments from the Bobcat faithful as he started off rocky in his first six games. But Garteig stood strong for a battled-tested Bobcats team, posting a 22-10-3 record overall and .917 save percentage.
“If you take away those first six games, I have a .935 save average,” Garteig said. “I understand that I did that to myself, but that is one of the tough things about the short schedule. You can’t repair that.”
Garteig never hid away from the criticism.
“A lot of people my whole career here have been all over me,” Garteig said. “I get it that Eric Hartzell was tough shoes to fill but at the same time (during) my junior and senior year, I came into it. Vancouver told me the same thing. They watched me play my sophomore and junior year. They knew I couldn’t sign a contract last year but then I really came into it this year.”
Garteig spent every weekend of his senior year beating the goaltender that stood across the ice from him and taking questions about how good that goaltender was after the game.
Garteig’s biggest victory over a goaltender? His new teammate in Vancouver and former Boston College goaltender Thatcher Demko.
Demko started in the national semifinal game against Quinnipiac, falling by a final score of 3-2.
Garteig sealed the win for Quinnipiac with arguably two of the biggest saves of his career in the final minute against the Eagles to send Quinnipiac to the national championship game.
However, for Garteig, nothing will top defeating Harvard in the final round of the ECAC tournament to give Quinnipiac its first ECAC title in program history.
“Winning the ECAC championship was my highest point for sure at Quinnipiac,” Garteig said. “I think a lot of my teammates would agree. Winning the ECAC championship for the first time in the school’s history, that’s pretty cool. I’ll remember that forever.”
The idea of being a good teammate and a team player resonates throughout the conversation, with Garteig taking every chance to thank his teammates for everything they have done to help him.
“For my teammates and I, it showed this year that they would do anything for me and I would do anything for them,” Garteig said. “That is what made this year so fun. I signed my contract Friday with seven of my senior classmates. Jake Meyers was my witness. They were all waiting for me in the parking lot after I signed. It meant a lot to me. It shows at Quinnipiac you make a lot of friendships.”
When asked about what comes next in his life, Garteig takes a long pause and begins to laugh.
“Well, I do have to graduate,” Garteig said. “I have to graduate and walk. The plan after is to stay around here to work out down at (TD Bank Sports Center) in the summer. Then I’ll go back home to Vancouver and Prince George to see my family.”
It’s still raining out. Garteig gets to the door and turns around, thanking me for my time and effort.
Moments like this act as a kind reminder that Garteig has remained humble all while becoming one of the greatest athletes Quinnipiac has ever seen.
Garteig will report to the Canucks’ training camp in late June.
