LEWISTON - Greg Gardner won't be donning his goalie equipment anytime soon, but it's not because the former Niagara University hockey standout is over the hill.
The former Lewiston resident and native of Mississauga, Ont., is still as quick and light on his feet as he was when he backstopped the Purple Eagles to a record-setting 1999-2000 season. He is an endless bundle of energy that simply can't stand still, even though his ice time nowadays is spent molding the hockey skills and minds of young players.
Niagara hopes Gardner's enthusiasm for the game is just as contagious now as it was during his playing days, when he returns to the Dwyer Arena ice surface in his new job as assistant men's hockey coach at his alma mater.
Gardner accepted the job last month after Albie O'Connell accepted the top assistant's post at Holy Cross. Jerry Forton, who has been with the 11th-year program since its inception, is the top assistant/associate coach at NU.
"That's my personality on the ice as a player and coach," said Gardner, after conducting a recent goalie clinic at NU in which he moved station to station with the quickness and intensity he displayed during that 1999-2000 campaign, which he finished with a then-NCAA single-season record of 12 shutouts.
"I want help bring the program back to the heights where we accomplished [great things]," he said. "I want the players to realize we just didn't show up beating top teams. It was all 25 guys. We had an entire team pushing the same way, not pulling. When you do that, the ball just gets rolling."
Gardner played for the Purple Eagles from 1996 to 2000, earning College Hockey America Player of the Year honors as a senior while helping Niagara win a record 30 games to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.
He captured the attention of pro scouts during that NCAA Tournament, making 34 saves in Niagara's 4-1 win over New Hampshire in the first round of the West Regionals. He followed that performance with a 39-save showing during NU's 4-1 quarterfinal loss to eventual national champion North Dakota. Gardner earned a spot on the NCAA West Regional All-Tournament Team for his efforts.
Gardner parlayed that fine senior season into becoming the first player signed by the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets. In becoming the first Purple Eagle to sign an NHL contract, he earned a $468,000 signing bonus.
Although he never played in a regular-season game for the Blue Jackets, Gardner had some success with the organization's minor league affiliates in the East Coast Hockey League and American Hockey League before moving on to the Rochester Americans' ECHL affiliate in Mississippi for two seasons.
He starred for the last two seasons in Bremerhaven, Germany, where last season he earned the German Pro Bundesliga's top goalie award.
Gardner, who bought a home in East Amherst last summer, had five offers to return to Europe this season, including one in Germany, in which he would have made more money than he earned the previous two seasons combined.
But the gypsy lifestyle he has lived for the last 10 years not only was getting to him, but to his family. Gardner hasn't lived a full calendar year in one spot since entering college. He didn't want to put his wife, Lauren, or their soon-to-be 2-year-old daughter, Ava, through another uprooting.
"I played at a high level last year," said Gardner, who compiled a 2.63 goals-against average in 47 regular-season games and a 2.11 in 13 playoff contests last season. "I had the ability to keep playing, but with my family now, I had to weigh the pros and cons about staying here and taking my family to Germany.
"When this job opened up, it was a no-brainer. It was time to make the transition from playing to coaching. In the end, professional hockey was great, but this is a chance to plant some roots in the area."
Gardner had always talked about getting into coaching when his career was over with longtime confidant and NU head coach Dave Burkholder. In an amazing coincidence, Gardner notified Burkholder about his decision to retire from playing on the same day O'Connell interviewed with Holy Cross.
When O'Connell accepted the Holy Cross job, hiring Gardner was a no-brainer.
"I think the timing for both of us was great," Burkholder said. "Who better to represent Niagara hockey than Greg? Who better to walk recruits and parents around campus than a man who lived his dream? He was a 3.5 [grade-point average] student and signed an NHL contract right out of Niagara."
Gardner is a visual reminder to current and future players of the program's past.
When he and 26 others signed with Niagara in 1996, the program was new, looking to make history. He and his fellow pioneers helped the fledging program gain national respect quickly during their four years on campus.
The Purple Eagles upset defending national champion Michigan in storied Yost Arena during Gardner's junior season. NU also scored victories over established programs at Ohio State, St. Lawrence, Rensselaer and Colgate during that attention-getting season that laid the groundwork for the record-setting 1999-2000 campaign.
"We talk about our history and tradition all the time when we're in front of our players," said Burkholder, who has been on the coaching staff at Niagara since the program's inception. "You only have one career, and you try to leave your mark. Greg obviously did that with his senior class and everything they accomplished, and I think it shows our guys anything is possible if you dare to dream."
Gardner has been passing along his hockey knowledge to others since 2000 - when he started conducting the Greg Gardner Goalie School in Dwyer Arena at the same time he embarked on his pro career. He also conducts semiprivate goalie clinics for area netminders.
He may be a former goalie, but he is not Niagara's goalie coach. Sure, he will be a valuable sounding board for all of the team's inexperienced goalies hoping to replace graduated starter Jeff Van Nynatten as the program's top netminder. But Gardner also is responsible for the strength and conditioning programs for players, video analysis, pregame scouting, recruiting and compliance.
Gardner is the second original Purple Eagle to return to the program as an assistant, the other being former defenseman Nate Handrahan, who is now the head women's coach at Robert Morris.
"I'm looking forward to being hands-on and making sure everyone is ready to go," Gardner said. "I'd love to see a team break all of our records."
