From: Denver Postby Mike Chambers
Last weekend's fantastic goaltending duel between seniors Jean-Philippe Lamoureux and Peter Mannino might have done nothing in determining the Western Collegiate Hockey Association's best goalie.
However, it undoubtedly reinforced the notion that the WCHA has two of the country's top puck-stoppers.
Lamoureux, who backstopped North Dakota to a 3-1 victory over Mannino and the University of Denver on Saturday night, only allowed two goals in two games against the Pioneers. Mannino earned his 12th career shutout in Friday's 1-0 win.
So who was better? Lamoureux gave up one fewer goal in the series, but one of the goals Mannino allowed in Game 2 was on a 2-on-0 breakaway cross-crease tap-in that was played to perfection by Sioux forwards Chris VandeVelde and Ryan Duncan. Mannino had virtually no chance.
So call it a tossup. And a coin flip might also be required to determine the WCHA's first-team goalie in March. But one thing has become clear: Lamoureux and Mannino should both be considered Hobey Baker Award candidates as NCAA player of the year.
They are the only WCHA goalies to have played every minute of every game for their teams. Lamoureux leads the country with four shutouts and is fourth in goals-against average (1.51), and tied for fifth in save percentage (.940). Mannino is tied for second in shutouts, seventh in GAA (1.65) and tied for eighth in save percentage (.936).
Colorado College freshman Richard Bachman (1.63 GAA, .945 saves percentage) has similarly impressive numbers, but the Highlands Ranch native was a backup for three games.
"Peter is definitely great; I've played against him for a number of years and he's been great for Denver," said Lamoureux, who at 5-foot-10, 155 pounds is two inches shorter and 40 pounds lighter than Mannino. "My mindset is to just give our team a chance to win, rather than look at numbers. I know Peter feels the same way."
"People that don't know me don't pronounce Jean right. They call me Jean, like a girl," said Lamoureux, from Grand Forks, N.D. "The first day of school, all the teachers didn't know if I was a guy or girl, so I dropped the Jean. This year, I just wanted to go by my first name. My dad went by Jean-Pierre when he played here, so it's kind of in honor of him, too."
However, it undoubtedly reinforced the notion that the WCHA has two of the country's top puck-stoppers.
Lamoureux, who backstopped North Dakota to a 3-1 victory over Mannino and the University of Denver on Saturday night, only allowed two goals in two games against the Pioneers. Mannino earned his 12th career shutout in Friday's 1-0 win.
So who was better? Lamoureux gave up one fewer goal in the series, but one of the goals Mannino allowed in Game 2 was on a 2-on-0 breakaway cross-crease tap-in that was played to perfection by Sioux forwards Chris VandeVelde and Ryan Duncan. Mannino had virtually no chance.
So call it a tossup. And a coin flip might also be required to determine the WCHA's first-team goalie in March. But one thing has become clear: Lamoureux and Mannino should both be considered Hobey Baker Award candidates as NCAA player of the year.
They are the only WCHA goalies to have played every minute of every game for their teams. Lamoureux leads the country with four shutouts and is fourth in goals-against average (1.51), and tied for fifth in save percentage (.940). Mannino is tied for second in shutouts, seventh in GAA (1.65) and tied for eighth in save percentage (.936).
Colorado College freshman Richard Bachman (1.63 GAA, .945 saves percentage) has similarly impressive numbers, but the Highlands Ranch native was a backup for three games.
"Peter is definitely great; I've played against him for a number of years and he's been great for Denver," said Lamoureux, who at 5-foot-10, 155 pounds is two inches shorter and 40 pounds lighter than Mannino. "My mindset is to just give our team a chance to win, rather than look at numbers. I know Peter feels the same way."
"People that don't know me don't pronounce Jean right. They call me Jean, like a girl," said Lamoureux, from Grand Forks, N.D. "The first day of school, all the teachers didn't know if I was a guy or girl, so I dropped the Jean. This year, I just wanted to go by my first name. My dad went by Jean-Pierre when he played here, so it's kind of in honor of him, too."
Duncan on DU. The Sioux's Duncan, who won the 2006 Hobey Baker Award, said this about the Pioneers: "They're very good, with an extreme amount of talent. They might be young, but that doesn't matter. They have a lot of impact freshmen and sophomores. They definitely gave us all we could handle and are right up there with Colorado College with the best team we've played."
The Sioux also have played defending NCAA champion Michigan State and Boston College.
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