From: Rocky Mountain Newsby Pat Rooney
At first glance, it is easy to consider the Western Collegiate Hockey Association as a haven for skilled forwards and high-octane offenses.
The league, after all, does boast four of the top 16 scoring offenses in the nation, with the University of Denver ranking 20th.
But, as the battle between DU's Peter Mannino and North Dakota's Jean-Philippe Lamoureux proved during the weekend, the WCHA also is a bastion for some of the top goaltenders in the nation.
Among the top 11 goalies nationally in goals-against average, five hail from the WCHA - Lamoureux (1.52), Colorado College freshman Richard Bachman (1.63), Mannino (1.66), Michael-Lee Teslak (1.81) of Michigan Tech and Minnesota State Mankato's Mike Zacharias (1.82).
Bachman, Lamoureux and Mannino also are ranked among the top nine nationally in saves percentage.
"If you think back to six or eight months ago, when all these great goaltenders were leaving the league, everybody was saying there would be question marks around the league (this) year," DU coach George Gwozdecky said. "But this league produces awesome goaltenders. When people think it's going to be a down year, that's usually when their expertise comes into question."
Mannino will have his hands full this week as the Pioneers visit St. Cloud State - it's tied for fourth in the nation in scoring - on Friday and Saturday.
EMERGING: DU forward Tyler Bozak appears to be separating himself from the rest of the Pioneers' talented freshman class.
Bozak scored both of the Pioneers' goals against the Fighting Sioux to take over the team lead in goals, with eight.
Bozak, centering a line that includes classmate Dustin Jackson and points leader Brock Trotter, has notched at least one point in seven of the past eight games while accumulating seven goals and three assists during that span.
"I'm playing on a great line and we like to create a lot of offense out there," Bozak said. "Getting the ice time all of us freshmen have been given has been unbelievable."
But, as the battle between DU's Peter Mannino and North Dakota's Jean-Philippe Lamoureux proved during the weekend, the WCHA also is a bastion for some of the top goaltenders in the nation.
Among the top 11 goalies nationally in goals-against average, five hail from the WCHA - Lamoureux (1.52), Colorado College freshman Richard Bachman (1.63), Mannino (1.66), Michael-Lee Teslak (1.81) of Michigan Tech and Minnesota State Mankato's Mike Zacharias (1.82).
Bachman, Lamoureux and Mannino also are ranked among the top nine nationally in saves percentage.
"If you think back to six or eight months ago, when all these great goaltenders were leaving the league, everybody was saying there would be question marks around the league (this) year," DU coach George Gwozdecky said. "But this league produces awesome goaltenders. When people think it's going to be a down year, that's usually when their expertise comes into question."
Mannino will have his hands full this week as the Pioneers visit St. Cloud State - it's tied for fourth in the nation in scoring - on Friday and Saturday.
EMERGING: DU forward Tyler Bozak appears to be separating himself from the rest of the Pioneers' talented freshman class.
Bozak scored both of the Pioneers' goals against the Fighting Sioux to take over the team lead in goals, with eight.
Bozak, centering a line that includes classmate Dustin Jackson and points leader Brock Trotter, has notched at least one point in seven of the past eight games while accumulating seven goals and three assists during that span.
"I'm playing on a great line and we like to create a lot of offense out there," Bozak said. "Getting the ice time all of us freshmen have been given has been unbelievable."
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