He has some large skates to fill.

In four days, sophomore goaltender Marc Cheverie will make his debut as the No. 1 starting goaltender for the No. 6-ranked Denver Pioneers.

“Everyone’s big concern with me is my experience,” Cheverie said. “I just haven’t played much at this level. I’m not really feeling the pressure right now, I think I trust my abilities and my teammates, so I think we’ll be good.”

Though the Nova Scotia native only appeared in five of the 41 games last season, he did post a 1-0-0 record.

So the big question… is he ready?

“Well all last year it was pretty much just a matter of preparing and competing against Mannino in practice and watching him (Mannino) in the games and he did just that,” said head coach George Gwozdecky.

Over the summer Cheverie spent one week at a training camp in Ottawa working with a goaltending coach. He also took part in an NHL conditioning camp in Vail, Colo., with the Florida Panthers training staff.

“The entire thing as a whole opened my eyes to see how hard you have to work to get into the NHL,” Cheverie said. “Just being around the guys and seeing what they’re all about and how they conduct themselves everyday.”

“This summer, his off-season, he really trained hard and went to a number of camps and did a great job of further preparing himself for this coming season,” Gwozdecky said.

Though Cheverie does not have much collegiate ice time, he has been a goalie since his childhood. With three older brothers, the only way he could play was as goaltender.

“I could never keep up running around or skating around, so they made me play net and I guess I just got good at it,” Cheverie said.

Cheverie’s dream of playing college hockey was close to becoming a reality.

“Before I was ever committed to a school I had a college coach come and fly to my house from the United States and met my parents and my family, and they told me that they wanted me but I was too fat, too lazy and too out of shape. They said if I fixed that ‘We’ll take you.’

“I think I lost about 30 pounds that summer. That was a huge eye-opening experience for me.”

As Cheverie prepares to lead the Pioneers to a successful season, he will take words from Mannino with him.

“A lot of times last year I would be down just cause I wasn’t playing and Peter would say you know hang in there Chev’ you’re good enough, you’re an awesome goalie and you’re going to get your shot. He kept on pushing me through last year just that your time will come and you’ll be ready for it. It wasn’t just one time we’d talk about it almost every weekend,” Cheverie said.

As the starting goaltender Cheverie will face many challenges and pressures, but Gwozdecky is confident about what is to come.

“He’s our No. 1 goaltender; he’s going to get a chance to play a lot,” Gwozdecky said. “He’s very talented. The only thing he lacks right now is playing experience in this level. I think he’s really going to open a lot of eyes and surprise some people, and I think he’s going to give us a chance to win every game he plays.”