Eric Hartzell Suits-Up For Penguins In 3-1 Win Against Ottawa

Quinnipiac men's ice hockey stand-out Eric Hartzell dressed for his first career NHL game on Monday. Hartzell backed-up Tomas Vokoun in goal in the Penguins 3-1 win against the Ottawa Senators.

Hartzell becomes the first Quinnipiac player to dress for an NHL game. 

Hartzell signed a professional deal last week with the Penguins, and has been working out with injured Penguins' players Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and James Neal. With Pittsburgh's starting goalie Marc-Andre Fleury away from the team for Monday's game, Hartzell got the opportunity to suit-up for game action as Vokoun's back-up against the Senators. 

Hartzell also was honored as USCHO.com's Player of the Year while also earning All-USCHO.com First Team honors. Hartzell earns the honor after winning a NCAA-best 30 games in 2012-13, while also posting a 1.57 GAA and a .933 save percentage.

The popular college hockey website also noted that Hartzell was 8-1 with a 1.42 GAA and .942 save percentage against teams that competed in the 2013 NCAA Tournament. Hartzell led the Bobcats to their first NCAA Frozen Four and National Championship Game in program history. 

Hartzell was also recently named the program's MVP after earning AHCA/CCM Hockey All-American honors and finishing the year as a Hobey Hat Trick Finalist. He was also named to the CollegeHockeyNews.com All-Star team and was also honored as the ECAC Hockey Player of the Year and ECAC Hockey Ken Dryden Goalie of the Year.

A three-time ECAC Hockey Goaltender of the Month, and two-time Goaltender of the Week, Hartzell was also featured in Sports Illustrated and highlighted by the New York Times, USA Today, ESPN.com and Deadspin.com. He completed his time at Quinnipiac with a 58-27-17 (.652) record - good for the second most wins in program history. He also posted a .924 save percentage and a 1.96 GAA - both Quinnipiac career records. This season's GAA and save percentage were also Quinnipiac single-season records.