Greg Gardner

Gregory Gardner (born November 21, 1975) is a Canadian ice hockey coach and former goaltender who is the NCAA Division I record-holder for shutouts in a season (as of 2021). He was the first ever player signed by the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Career When Niagara University began sponsoring men's ice hockey in 1996, they did so with Gardner as their primary goaltender. The team joined ECAC West for their inaugural season, one of the top conferences in Division III, and performed surprisingly well. Gardner helped the team finish second in the conference but, because the team was in its first season of play, they were ineligible for any postseason play. Both Gardner and the Eagles played even better in year two, with Niagara winning both the ECAC West regular season and Tournament Championships. While Gardner overall numbers were underwhelming, 12 of the team's 27 games had been played against Division I programs. Niagara had done this because the school's plan was to promote the program to Division I the following year.

He played for Team Canada in the 1997 Maccabiah Games in Israel, winning a gold medal.

Gardner got his first taste of D-I hockey in the fall of 1998 and showed that he belonged when he helped Niagara earn a weekend split against the defending NCAA champion, #2 Michigan. He continued to play steady in goal for Niagara, helping the team finish with a winning record. For his final season, Gardner's team became a founding member of College Hockey America and he responded with one of the most stunning seasons in NCAA history. Gardner was in goal for 41 of the team's 42 games and led the nation with 29 wins and a 1.53 goals against average. He also set the NCAA record with 12 shutouts on the season, bringing his career total up to 16. In a stretch of 15 games, beginning in late December, Gardner went 13–0–2 and helped earn Niagara its first ever national ranking. Despite the gaudy totals, Gardner's competition was perceived as weak and he was not named as an All-American. Regardless of the personal slight, Gardner helped the Purple Eagles win the inaugural CHA Tournament and put the team in prime position for an at-large bid.

Because the CHA was a new conference, they did not have an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament despite having the requisite number of member teams (6). Even though the conssnsus at the time was that the conference was inferior to the other established leagues, the NCAA selection committee could not ignore Niagara's 29–7–4 record and awarded the final western seed to the Purple Eagles. Niagara faced New Hampshire in its first NCAA game and showed they belonged by winning the match. While the Eagles were outshout 18–35, Gardner turned away 34 attempts and led the team to a moderately surprising 4–1 win. While they could not replicate the performance in the second game, falling to the eventual national champions, Gardner had ensured his legacy with the program by giving the Purple Eagles their first (and only as of 2021) 30-win season.

After graduating, Gardner played several years of professional hockey, mostly in the ECHL. His best season came in 2003 when he helped the Mississippi Sea Wolves capture a division championship. Gardner retired as a player in 2006 and immediately returned to college hockey as a coach. He spent 5 seasons as an assistant with his alma mater before moving on to Princeton in 2011. he is currently the associate head coach at Mercyhurst.

Gardner was inducted into the Niagara Athletic Hall of Fame in 2006.

Statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV% 1992–93 Caledon Canadians CJBHL 28 — — — 1390 73 1 3.15 — — — — — — — — — 1993–94 Caledon Canadians MetJHL 1 1 0 0 40 5 0 7.50 — — — — — — — — — 1993–94 Thornhill Islanders MetJHL 31 18 11 1 1813 103 1 3.41 — — — — — — — — — 1994–95 Thornhill Islanders MetJHL 42 — — — — — — 2.89 — 11 — — — — — 3.19 — 1995–96 Thornhill Islanders MetJHL 34 — — — 2005 100 2 2.99 — 18 — — — — — 3.23 — 1996–97 Niagara ECAC West 17 8 5 2 939 54 0 3.45 .875 — — — — — — — — 1997–98 Niagara ECAC West 25 12 10 3 1454 74 0 3.05 .875 — — — — — — — — 1998–99 Niagara Independent 30 15 10 3 1742 78 4 2.69 .912 — — — — — — — — 1999–00 Niagara CHA 41 29 8 4 2503 64 12 1.53 .936 — — — — — — — — 2000–01 Syracuse Crunch AHL 9 1 5 0 351 28 0 4.78 .859 — — — — — — — — 2000–01 Dayton Bombers ECHL 28 14 9 2 1600 70 2 2.62 .908 3 — — — — — 2.96 .894 2001–02 Dayton Bombers ECHL 16 11 4 1 965 43 1 2.67 .903 — — — — — — — — 2001–02 Syracuse Crunch AHL 18 7 6 3 992 41 2 2.48 .923 1 — — — — — — — 2002–03 Mississippi Sea Wolves ECHL 55 32 17 4 3141 145 0 2.77 .919 12 — — — — — 2.03 .941 2003–04 Mississippi Sea Wolves ECHL 47 30 14 3 2789 113 3 2.43 .923 5 — — — — — 2.23 .935 2004–05 Fischtown Pinguins Bundesliga 49 — — — 2859 114 4 2.43 — 5 — — — — — 3.27 — 2005–06 Fischtown Pinguins Bundesliga 47 — — — — — — 2.63 — 13 — — — — — 2.11 — NCAA totals 113 64 33 12 6,638 270 16 2.44 .907 — — — — — — — — ECHL totals 146 87 44 10 8,495 371 6 2.62 .917 20 — — — — — — — AHL totals 27 8 11 3 1,343 69 2 3.08 .905 1 — — — — — — — Bundesliga totals 96 — — — — — — — — 18 — — — — — — —

Awards and honors Award Year All-CHA First Team 1999–00