Photo by: Justin Edmonds
In the 2005 NCAA playoffs, Pioneer goalie Peter Mannino was called upon to handle the load for DU.
The result? A record for most saves by a goalie in the Frozen Four, a Most Outstanding Player award and, most importantly, a National Championship.
Now after two years of splitting duties in goal with former Pioneer Glenn Fisher, Mannino is once again asked upon to lead the Pioneers between the pipes.
“I want to be that guy that when we mess up here or there, I am going to do my job and give our team confidence when it comes to goaltending,” said Mannino.
Mannino will get the opportunity to do just that, as he is the only one out of four Pioneer goaltenders to have played a collegiate game.
DU has an astonishing 12 freshmen on its roster this season, the most since Head Coach George Gwozdecky has been in charge of the team. Mannino will play an intricate role in their success.
“Everything starts and ends with our goaltender,” said Gwozdecky. “Peter Mannino has proven over the past few years that he is one of the top goaltenders in the league, and this is the first opportunity he has had in his career that going into the season he is the No. 1 guy.”
Mannino began playing hockey when he was four years old growing up in Michigan. When he was eight years old, Mannino first began playing goalie.
“It is a unique position, I don’t want to say that you are born into it, but in a certain way, it is just in you,” said Mannino, who switched to goalie at the request of his youth coach. “You get in front of these pucks every game, and you have to enjoy having that kind of pressure on you with carrying the team.”
Mannino had these qualities early on in his career, and he excelled while playing for the Pittsburgh Forge, a junior team in the North American Hockey League. It was in Pittsburgh where Mannino was first discovered by DU coaches.
“Denver had come to watch [former Pioneer] Mike Handza and former coach Steve Miller saw me. Things just kind of progressed from there,” said Mannino.
Mannino was asked to join the Pioneers as the replacement to former Pioneer Adam Berkhole, who was the team’s goaltender at the time.
While playing one more year of junior hockey, Mannino watched Birkhole guide the Pioneers to a national championship. Mannino knew that coming in as a freshman, he would have big shoes to fill.
“I didn’t want to leave a question mark in goal,” said Mannino. “I wanted to fill that void right away.”
Mannino did just that. While splitting time with Fisher, Mannino had one of the best freshman seasons ever by a DU goaltender. He saved 92.7 percent of all shots he faced, had five shutouts and a stingy 2.19 goals-against-average, and the Pioneers won their second straight national championship.
The next two seasons brought high expectations upon the Pioneers and their goalies, expectations many believe they did not live up to.
While Mannino’s statistics looked nearly identical to his freshman campaign, his win-loss record faltered, and the Pioneers missed the NCAA playoffs back-to-back years.
“You can’t win championships every year,” Mannino said. “You just have to take those last years as tools to learn and get better, and, hopefully this year, as my last year, I can take the last three years and put them together.”
This season, though, Mannino feels will have a different ending, along with him having a different role.
“This year, I am really pushed into a leadership role, like helping people blend into the team,” Mannino said. “With so many freshmen, we just want to get them adjusted as quickly as possible. I want to be there for questions and advice and be able to point them in the right direction when.”
Mannino said that one of his team’s major goals for the season is to establish team chemistry “right away.”
“With 12 new guys coming in, our biggest objective is to get them feeling comfortable and into our systems,” said Mannino.
Ultimately, Mannino and the rest of the Pioneers are working to return to their championship form and earn a spot in the 2008 Frozen Four, which this year will be played at the Pepsi Center in Denver.
Mannino said that this is a realistic possibility, despite the lack of experience on the team.
“Everybody is bringing different elements to the table,” Mannino said. “Some people are very offensive, some defensive, and it is fun to see it all come together.”
The Pioneers’ success this season will hinge on what Mannino said is his ultimate duty to the team.
“I have to stop the puck, as simple as that,” Mannino said. “I’m the goalie, and hopefully the team can feed off of that.”
