Though the goaltender is figuratively tethered to his net while his teammates play in front of him, he can still lead from behind, as UAA's Olivier Mantha continues to prove.
The junior has spearheaded the Seawolves resurrection from a sorry start — 0-5-0 — in Western Collegiate Hockey Association play. Since that stumbling beginning, UAA has gone 3-4-2 in league games, all with Mantha in goal.
In those last nine games, Mantha has posted a 2.21 goals-against average and .925 save percentage, and he has not surrendered more than three goals in a game. He's started 13 straight games as Ferris State rolls into Sullivan Arena for a WCHA series that opens Friday and continues with Saturday's Military Appreciation Night.
Mantha has been UAA's No. 1 goalie since he arrived on campus. He's started 18 of 20 games this season and 79 of UAA's 88 games (89.8 percent) in his career.
Seawolves coach Matt Thomas hoped to keep Mantha fresher this season with the arrival of fifth-year senior Rasmus Reijola, a transfer from St. Cloud State. But Reijola hasn't played since Alabama-Huntsville chased him with three goals in the first six-plus minutes of a 5-2 Chargers win at Sullivan Arena on Nov. 4.
With the departure of No. 3 goalie Evan Hauser at the holiday break, the Seawolves have brought in freshman Jordan Greenfield-Flemon from the Notre Dame Hounds of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League. The 6-foot-4 Greenfield-Flemon went 10-8-1 for the Hounds, with a 2.79 goals-against average, .911 save percentage and two shutouts.
Still, it's hard to imagine Thomas not sticking with Mantha every game, as long as the junior continues to deliver.
That's because the Seawolves sit ninth in the 10-team WCHA, where only the top eight finishers qualify for the playoffs. UAA did not qualify last season, when it finished ninth, or two seasons ago, when it finished last.
UAA, with 12 points in 14 league games, sits four points behind eighth-place Lake Superior State (16 points in 14 games) and seven points behind seventh-place UAF (19 points in 16 games).
Sixth-place Ferris State (20 points in 14 games) received splendid goaltending last week at the Three Rivers Classic in Pittsburgh. Freshman Justin Kapelmaster delivered 58 saves in a 1-1 tie with Boston College in the consolation game — Kapelmaster was named WCHA Defensive Player of the Week — after sophomore Darren Smith stopped 35 shots in a 1-0 opening-round loss to Robert Morris.
Ferris State
7-12-2, 6-7-1 WCHA
at
UAA
4-14-2, 3-9-2 WCHA
Sullivan Arena
Friday, Saturday, 7:07 p.m.
TV: Live, GCI Cable Channel 1 and 907