From: Rocky Mountain Newsby Pat Rooney
For the first time in three seasons together, DU goaltenders Glenn Fisher and Peter Mannino were not promised guaranteed playing time by coach George Gwozdecky.
A longtime proponent of rotating goaltenders whenever he has a pair capable of shouldering the load, Gwozdecky wanted to encourage more competition between his talented netminders, who both battled periods of inconsistency last season.
So far, the experiment has brought out the best in Fisher and Mannino. Fisher posted a shutout against Wisconsin on Friday and Mannino stopped 39 shots in a win Saturday, leading DU to its first sweep of the season heading into its first home series within the Western Collegiate Hockey Association against Michigan Tech.
"You're not sitting there content, knowing you are going to be playing the next game," Mannino said. "You're always battling in practice or in workouts. You have to fight for that spot and fight for the chance to play and hope things go well so you keep getting those chances."
Mannino won the Most Outstanding Player award at the 2005 Frozen Four but watched his saves percentage slip from .927 to .904 last year. He has allowed only seven goals in 91 shots during his past three games.
Fisher, who seemed to give up one bad goal a game last year, has a .931 saves percentage, which ranked sixth in the nation going into Sunday's action around the country.
"You can battle it each way platooning or getting one guy the start, but if one guy is hot at one time and he's winning games, obviously that is going to help the team," Mannino said.
ROARING HUSKIES: DU (6-4-0, 4-2-0 league) is not the only WCHA team boasting a pair of streaking goaltenders. The Pioneers will get a look at the other top duo Friday and Saturday at Magness Arena.
Michigan Tech (6-3-1, 3-2-1 WCHA), which recorded a win and tie against Minnesota Duluth over the weekend, has prospered as goaltenders Rob Nolan and Michael-Lee Teslak have staked their claim as the nation's best goaltending tandem.
Teslak and Nolan ranked third and fourth, respectively, in goals- against average after Saturday's play, and Nolan's saves percentage of .930 ranked seventh in the nation.
While DU has won its past five games against Tech, the Huskies posted an impressive sweep against Vermont, which won the season-opening Ice Breaker Tournament, where the Pioneers finished third.
"Michigan Tech is probably a team that has surprised many people within our league and outside of our conference. They have had a great start to the season," Gwozdecky said. "For Tech to dismantle that Vermont team like they did really is very impressive."
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