BCHL- At the most recent BCHL Annual General Meeting, the Board of Governors unanimously voted in favour of updating the names of several year-end awards, as well as adding a pair of new trophies. Over the next two weeks, the league will unveil these changes.
The first award to have its name changed is the league’s Top Goaltender Award, which will now be known as the Michael Garteig Trophy, named after the former Powell River Kings and Penticton Vees standout netminder.
Garteig played three seasons in the BCHL from 2009 to 2012, the first two with Powell River and his final season with Penticton.
The Prince George, B.C. native holds many of the league’s goaltending records, including career wins (92) and shutouts (12). He also holds the single-season record for goals-against average with a mark of 1.69 in 2010-11 and is tied for the single-season lead in shutouts with seven, also during the 2010-11 campaign.
He won a Fred Page Cup and a National Championship during his final season in the league as part of the Vees team that won a Canadian Junior A record 42 games in a row and will be inducted into the BC Hockey Hall of Fame next week.
“Having this award named after me is a true honour,” said Garteig. “I feel so humbled and fortunate to have spent my junior career playing in the BCHL. My success is a testament to the coaches, teammates and organizations I was a part of during my career in B.C. I played for some incredible teams and met some great people along the way. I feel so lucky to now have an award named after me.”
After his BCHL career, Garteig played four years at Quinnipiac University before embarking on a pro career that continues to this day. He won a Kelly Cup as ECHL champion in 2019 with the Newfoundland Growlers and has made stops in Finland and Germany in the years since.
