Quinnipiac coach Rand Pecknold was fond of telling those who were interested in judging Bobcats goaltender Eric Hartzell’s qualifications for individual awards about the rest of the team.
Namely, that the Bobcats’ top scorer was hovering around 100th in the country in points per game yet the team was ranked No. 1 in the country.
“What Hartzy has done for us is carried us on his back all year long,” Pecknold said. “He’s been great. Whenever we’ve struggled, he’s been there to bail us out.”
Hartzell won a national-high 30 games for the national runner-up Bobcats, and he was selected USCHO’s player of the year for the 2012-13 season.
The senior led the nation in time in the crease, playing over 100 minutes more than anyone else, and orchestrated the Bobcats’ run to the ECAC Hockey regular season title and the first Frozen Four in program history.
The White Bear Lake, Minn., native posted a 1.57 goals against average and a .933 save percentage. In nine games against teams that made the NCAA tournament, Hartzell was 8-1 with a 1.45 GAA and a .942 save percentage.
Of his 42 starts, Hartzell allowed two goals or fewer in 35, and he went 18-0-3 during the Bobcats’ 21-game unbeaten streak that ran from Nov. 9 to Feb. 9.
The USCHO postseason awards were selected by U.S. College Hockey Online Division I men’s conference columnists after the Frozen Four. The All-USCHO teams and rookie of the year were announced Thursday; the coach of the year was unveiled earlier Friday.
