{{short description|Canadian ice hockey player}} {{Use mdy dates|date=October 2022}} {{Infobox ice hockey player | name = Greg Gardner | image = | image_size = | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1975|11|21}} | birth_place = Mississauga, Ontario, Canada | height_ft = 6 | height_in = 0 | weight_lb = 183 | position = Goaltender | catches = Left | played_for = Syracuse Crunch<br />Dayton Bombers<br />Mississippi Sea Wolves<br />Fischtown Pinguins | career_start = 2000 | career_end = 2006 | module = {{Infobox college coach|embed=yes | name = | image = | alt = | caption = | current_title = Assistant coach | current_team = St. Lawrence | current_conference = ECAC Hockey | current_record = | contract = | birth_date = | birth_place = | death_date = | death_place = | alma_mater = Niagara University | coach_years1 = 2006–2011 | coach_team1 = Niagara (asst.) | coach_years2 = 2011–2014 | coach_team2 = Princeton (asst.) | coach_years3 = 2014–2025 | coach_team3 = Mercyhurst (asso.) | coach_years4 = 2025–present | coach_team4 = St. Lawrence (asst.) | overall_record = | tournament_record = | championships = | awards = | coaching_records = | medaltemplates = {{MedalSport |Ice hockey }} {{MedalCountry | {{CAN}} }} {{MedalCompetition|Maccabiah Games}} {{MedalGold|1997 Israel|Ice hockey}} }}}}
'''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.<ref>{{cite web |title=Columbus Blue Jackets Sign First Player in Club History |url=http://www.bluejackets.com/news/releases/9.html |website=Columbus Blue Jackets |access-date=May 13, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20001028164539/http://www.bluejackets.com/news/releases/9.html |archive-date=October 28, 2000 |date=May 4, 2000}}</ref>
==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.<ref>[https://www.maccabicanada.com/1997-maccabiah-delegation "1997 Team Canada Delegation"]</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.jewishindependent.ca/oldsite/archives/dec12/archives12dec07-04.html|title=Maccabi Team Canada|website=Jewish Independent| date=December 7, 2012|author=Paul Lungen}}</ref>
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.<ref>{{cite news|title=1998-99 Men's Ice Hockey Schedule |url=https://purpleeagles.com/sports/mens-ice-hockey/schedule/1998-99 |work=Niagara Purple Eagles |accessdate=November 24, 2021}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news|title=USA TODAY/American Hockey Magazine Poll|url=http://www.uscho.com/rankings/usa-today-mens/1999-2000/poll,0110/january-10,-2000/|publisher=USCHO.com|date=2000-01-10|accessdate=2013-05-25}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news|title=NCAA Division 1 Tournament|url=http://www.augenblick.org/chha/ncaa_trn.html|publisher=College Hockey Historical Archives|access-date=2013-06-03}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news|title=Niagara 4, New Hampshire 1|url=http://www.uscho.com/box/mens-hockey/2000/03/24/niagara-vs-new-hampshire/|publisher=USCHO.com|date=2000-03-24|access-date=2013-06-03}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news|title=Greg Gardner |url=https://hurstathletics.com/sports/mens-ice-hockey/roster/coaches/greg-gardner/2369 |work=Mercyhurst Lakers |accessdate=November 24, 2021}}</ref>
Gardner was inducted into the Niagara Athletic Hall of Fame in 2006.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://purpleeagles.com/hof.aspx?type=sport |title=Purple Eagles Hall of Fame |publisher=Niagara Purple Eagles |access-date=May 21, 2019}}</ref>
==Statistics== ===Regular season and playoffs=== {| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" style="text-align:center; width:80em" |- bgcolor="#e0e0e0" ! colspan="3" bgcolor="#ffffff" | ! rowspan="99" bgcolor="#ffffff" | ! colspan="9" | Regular season ! rowspan="99" bgcolor="#ffffff" | ! colspan="8" | Playoffs |- bgcolor="#e0e0e0" ! 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 || — | — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — |- bgcolor="f0f0f0" | 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 || — | — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — |- bgcolor="f0f0f0" | 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 || — |- bgcolor="f0f0f0" | 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 | — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — |- bgcolor="f0f0f0" | 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 | — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — |- bgcolor="f0f0f0" | 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 |- bgcolor="f0f0f0" | 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 || — || — || — || — || — || — || — |- bgcolor="f0f0f0" | 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 |- bgcolor="f0f0f0" | 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 || — |- bgcolor="#e0e0e0" ! colspan="3" | NCAA totals ! 113 !! 64 !! 33 !! 12 !! 6,638 !! 270 !! 16 !! 2.44 || .907 ! — !! — !! — !! — !! — !! — !! — !! — |- bgcolor="#e0e0e0" ! colspan="3" | ECHL totals ! 146 !! 87 !! 44 !! 10 !! 8,495 !! 371 !! 6 !! 2.62 || .917 ! 20 !! — !! — !! — !! — !! — !! — !! — |- bgcolor="#e0e0e0" ! colspan="3" | AHL totals ! 27 !! 8 !! 11 !! 3 !! 1,343 !! 69 !! 2 !! 3.08 || .905 ! 1 !! — !! — !! — !! — !! — !! — !! — |- bgcolor="#e0e0e0" ! colspan="3" | Bundesliga totals ! 96 !! — !! — !! — !! — !! — !! — !! — !! — ! 18 !! — !! — !! — !! — !! — !! — !! — |}
==Awards and honors== {| class="wikitable" ! Award ! Year ! |- | All-CHA First Team | 1999–00 | <ref>{{cite news|title=CHA All-Teams|url=http://www.augenblick.org/chha/cha_all.html|publisher=College Hockey Historical Archives|access-date=May 18, 2013}}</ref> |- |}
==References== {{Reflist|50em}}
==External links== *{{Ice hockey stats}}
{{S-start}} {{s-ach}} {{succession box | before = First Awarded | title = CHA Player of the Year| years = 1999–00| after = Marc Kielkucki}} {{S-end}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gardner, Greg}} Category:1975 births Category:Living people Category:Canadian ice hockey goaltenders Category:Competitors at the 1997 Maccabiah Games Category:Dayton Bombers players Category:Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Category:Fischtown Pinguins players Category:Maccabiah Games competitors for Canada Category:Mississippi Sea Wolves players Category:Niagara Purple Eagles men's ice hockey players Category:Ice hockey people from Mississauga Category:Syracuse Crunch players