Of a team’s six skaters on the sheet of ice at any given time, no position carries more responsibility than the one anchoring the crease. Goaltenders sole responsibility is stopping a puck 3 inches in diameter being launched 75-90 miles an hour at them.
Good goaltenders can make an average team a playoff team. Great goaltenders can bring even greater success to their squad, oftentimes being a reason why a team makes it as far as they do. No team knows that better than Quinnipiac men’s ice hockey.
Success at the goaltending position has been a characteristic of every successful Bobcat team. In their first Frozen Four appearance in 2013, it was goaltender Michael Hartzell ‘13 who’s 920 saves, .933 save percentage and five shutouts backstopped the Bobcats to their first national championship appearance in program history.
Three years later, in 2016, it was goaltender Michael Gartieg ‘16 who recorded a 1.91 goals-against average and eight shutouts, helping lift the Bobcats to another national title appearance.
But it wasn’t until 2023 that the 1.49 goals-against average, .931 save percentage and 10-shutout stat line of goaltender Yaniv Perets ’25 helped Quinnipiac finally get over the ...