For the first time since Adam Berkhoel had exclusive ownership of the University of Denver’s goaltending crease in 2003-04, the Pioneers are looking for one guy to play the most important position on a regular basis.
The candidates – senior Glenn Fisher and junior Peter Mannino – have alternated regular-season starts for the past two seasons.
Mannino, the 2005 Frozen Four MVP, has the better career statistics and started seven of 11 league playoff or NCAA Tournament games. The undrafted NHL free agent is 2-0 in championship games, having blanked Colorado College 1-0 for the 2005 WCHA playoff title and won the ensuing 4-1 NCAA title game over North Dakota.
Fisher, a 2002 fifth-round draft pick of the Edmonton Oilers, has been inconsistent but has shown flashes of greatness. His lone shutout came last season at Wisconsin, the eventual national champion.
Heading into tonight’s season-opener in the Ice Breaker at Miami (Ohio), the No. 1 job remains unclear. DU coach George Gwozdecky said either Fisher or Mannino could start over the weekend: Tonight’s starter will play back-to-back if he plays well against the No. 8 RedHawks. Saturday’s game is against Vermont or Colgate.
Gwozdecky, who dubbed his two goalies “the best goaltending combination in the country” – a term he also used for Wade Dubielewicz and Berkhoel in 2001-02 and 2002-03 – still believes in the platoon system. But he wants to try to get more out of his goalies by taking away guaranteed playing time. If he cannot identify the No. 1 guy, he will go back to the platoon, with practice determining who starts the weekend opener.
“It’s the coach’s decision and I’m pretty excited about it,” said Mannino, who has a career saves percentage of .917, second in program history to Dubielewicz’s .923. “The last two years we’ve been splitting, and this year he said it’s going to be different. You just have to have the mindset of being that guy and really wanting the position.”
Said Fisher, who has a career saves percentage of .890: “Creating competition is good. (Gwozdecky) hasn’t done that for a long time. Hopefully, it will make Pete and I better goaltenders in the long run. We’re going to be pushing each other harder than ever.”
Tonight’s game is the first of three nonconference games against two of Gwozdecky’s protégés this month. RedHawks coach Rico Blasi, last season’s national coach of the year, was a DU assistant from 1995-99.
Blasi’s replacement at DU was Seth Appert, who became RPI’s head coach in the offseason after nine years at Denver. RPI visits Magness Arena for a two-game series Oct. 20-21, the weekend after the Pioneers open WCHA play at St. Cloud State.
Mike Chambers can be reached at 303-954-1357 or mchambers@denverpost.com.
Season openers
NO. 9 UNIVERSITY OF DENVER VS. NO. 8 MIAMI, OHIO
What: Ice Breaker Invitational, semifinal
When: 6 p.m.
Where: Oxford, Ohio
TV/Radio: ESPNU/KKFN 950 AM
Notes: The four-team tournament includes No. 14 Colgate and Vermont. DU will play one of those teams Saturday in the championship or consolation game. … DU coach George Gwozdecky, who coached at Miami from 1989-94, will become the first hockey member in Miami’s Cradle of Coaches Association, an organization that includes former NCAA football legends Bo Schembechler, Ara Parseghian and Woody Hayes. … The Cady Arena is a new $34 million complex.
NO. 13 COLORADO COLLEGE AT AIR FORCE
What: Nonleague game
When: 7 p.m.
Where: Cadet Ice Arena
TV/Radio: None/103.9 AM (Southern Colorado)
Notes: CC and AFA both continue their nonconference weekends against Alabama-Huntsville. The Tigers host the Chargers on Saturday night and the Falcons entertain the CHA team Sunday. … CC is 54-6-2 against Air Force.
MIKE CHAMBERS
