Owen Bartoszkiewicz, the backup goalie for the Gophers men's hockey team for the past 1 ½ seasons, will play for the Youngstown Phantoms in the 2023-24 season, the USHL team announced Monday.
Gophers backup goalie Owen Bartoszkiewicz to play in USHL next season
Bartoszkiewicz will join the Youngstown Phantoms, the team for which he played in 2021-22. He retains two years of college eligibility.
June 19, 2023 at 7:36PM
![Minnesota huddles up around goalie Justen Close (1) before the start of the game Saturday, April 8, 2023, at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla. Minnesota Golden Gophers vs. Quinnipiac Bobcats in the finals of the NCAA Frozen Four. ] CARLOS GONZALEZ • carlos.gonzalez@startribune.com.](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/KU5I2HBV7DEQR6WOVHMHRNEJVU.jpg?&w=712)
With the return of Justen Close for his fifth season of eligibility and the addition of highly regarded incoming freshman Nathan Airey, Bartoszkiewicz opted to return to the team for which he played 12 games in the 2021-22 season. Bartoszkiewicz appeared in six games for the Gophers in 2022-23, going 3-0 with a 3.72 goals-against average and .883 save percentage. He has two years of college eligibility remaining.
The Gophers goalie trio for the upcoming season will be Close, Airey and sophomore-to-be Zach Wiese. Close has backstopped the Gophers to back-to-back NCAA Frozen Four appearances, including an appearance in the national championship game this season. He has a 40-15-1 record with a 2.05 GAA, .924 save percentage and nine shutouts in his Gophers career.
Airey played for the Cranbrook Bucks and earned the top goaltender award in the British Columbia Hockey League in 2022-23. The Cochrane, Alberta, native went 23-9-1 with a 2.44 GAA and .925 GAA this season. Wiese did not see action for the Gophers this season.
The Gophers will lose senior setter Melani Shaffmaster, but they don’t expect players to leave via the transfer portal.
