Michael Garteig remembers the year goaltender Brad Thiessen set the B.C. Hockey League record for most shutouts in a season.
Now 19, Garteig was just barely into his teens when he used to go to the Coliseum to watch Thiessen slam the door on BCHL opponents. Thiessen did that five times for the Prince George Spruce Kings and recorded two more shutouts for the Merritt Centennials after being sent to the Cents at the trade deadline. Thiessen's seven shutouts established the standard for BCHL goalies. Now Garteig, a native of Prince George who plays for the Powell River Kings, is just one short of tying that mark.
"I watched him play and he was a pretty good goalie and it's cool that I'm getting close," said Garteig. "I have a very good defence and I have a chance of beating it but it's not something I've been thinking about. It would be awesome and so cool to beat the record, but I'm focused on winning and that's been my main concern."
Winning has come often in Powell River. The Kings lead the BCHL with a 26-5-3-2 record and have a 10-point lead with three games in hand over second-place Langley in the Coastal Conference standings. A community-owned team has never won the league championship, dating back to the birth of what was then the B.C. Junior Hockey League in 1967 and Garteig sees no reason why Powell River won't be the first.
"The season has been unreal, we have a very close group of guys and we have a very good coach -- I personally think Kent Lewis is the best coach in the league," said Garteig. "I think we have a chance to do something special so hopefully that's what happens. Our recruiting was so good this summer and I have a very good defence in front of me. We don't win a lot of games 6-0, we win a lot of one-goal games and two-goal games."
Garteig's individual statistics this season are staggering. In 31 games he has a 1.49 goals-against average, with six shutouts, a .939 save percentage and a 22-6-3 record. That's got the likes of Quinnipiac, Alaska-Fairbanks, Union, Nebraska-Omaha and Ferris Sate actively recruiting him. He plans to write his college entrance tests in January but could end up signing a scholarship commitment before then.
"I've got six or seven schools interested and they're all good schools in all good divisions and I'm excited about that," Garteig said. "I'd like to have everything paid for but I also want to go where I have a good chance of being a starter and will get to play."
Garteig was a late bloomer in hockey, often a late cut of the top Prince George team. Considered too small by some coaches, he now stands six-foot-one and weighs 185 pounds. He's filling a lot more net than opposition forwards would like.
As a triple-A midget goalie, Garteig had a brief affiliation with the Spruce Kings as an emergency callup and tried out as a 16 year old with the Quesnel Millionaires, but didn't stick, and ended up in junior B with the Princeton Posse. He credits his Princeton coach, Dale Hladun, with restoring his confidence and making him believe he could succeed in junior hockey. Waiting at home until Princeton called, Garteig was serious about quitting hockey.
"I never played in Quesnel and I wasn't having fun and I didn't want to play major midget, so I sat at home with nowhere to play until Duner called," Garteig said. "I went down to Princeton and went on a seven- or eight-game winning streak. I played a lot of games and got a lot of shots and that made hockey fun again. I re-found the love of the game."
Garteig shut the Spruce Kings out 5-0 in Prince George on Nov. 20, but won't play against them in Powell River tonight. Garteig said backup goalie Sean Maguire, who already has two shutouts, will get the call.
The Spruce Kings have had a horrible season, ranked last in the BCHL with a 7-30-0-2 record. They started their trip this week with losses in Langley and Coquitlam and have lost 15 of their last 16 games. That doesn't sit well with Garteig, who grew up with some of the Spruce Kings players.
"I hate to see Prince George doing that bad, I don't like it," said Garteig.
Prince George will be in Surrey to face the Eagles Saturday night.
n Saturday's game in Surrey could be forward Lyndon Martell's last as a Spruce King. On Tuesday, the Kamloops Blazers dealt the WHL rights of the 17-year-old native of Prince George to the Regina Pats in a trade that also included 20-year-old winger Shayne Neigum and a third-round bantam draft pick. In return, the Blazers picked up 20-year-old forward Thomas Frazee.
Martell started the season with the Blazers. He has four goals and eight assists 12 points in 15 games since being sent back to the BCHL. Martell is not expected to join the Pats until after the Christmas break.
