Success is in the details for UAA goaltender Mantha

Before every hockey game, UAA goaltender Olivier Mantha meticulously goes through his pregame routine, a day-long process he has down to a tee.

It starts with a morning skate, where Mantha focuses on tracking pucks with his eyes and receiving shots from all over the ice. After a brief rest, he eats a pregame meal of oatmeal — because it provides energy and is easy on the stomach, he says — and then it's back to the arena.

About 45 minutes before hitting the ice, Mantha goes to a quiet spot and bounces a racquetball off the wall, again tracking it with his eyes and following it back to his hand to help ready his body and mind for the 100-mph pucks he'll face in the game.

Then, it's showtime.

"It's good to always do the same routine so you feel comfortable, confident," said Mantha, a soft-spoken French Canadian from the small town of La Tuque, Quebec.

For UAA hockey fans, Mantha has been a household name for years. The 6-foot-1, 192-pound senior is a three-time MVP for the Seawolves and a bright spot on a team that hasn't made the Western Collegiate Hockey Association playoffs since 2014, the year before Mantha's arrival.

Last season Mantha posted a .913 save percentage and played 85 percent of UAA's minutes.

"I always say it's the most important position in sports,  other than probably quarterback, to a team," said UAA captain Matt Anholt, who doubles as Mantha's roommate. "You can't win without a good goalie and … as much as we've struggled, every weekend we think we have a chance to win based on him."

Mantha, known as Manny to his teammates, emerged as a force midway through his freshman season with two standout games against a stacked UAF team in Fairbanks, where he helped the Seawolves to a two-game sweep, including a 3-2 overtime victory in the second game.

Three years later, Mantha is poised to set several UAA records. His career .910 save percentage is currently the school's all-time best, and he ranks second in saves (2,503), third in goals-against average (2.87), third in minutes played (5,189.14) and fifth in shutouts (3).

But Mantha said he would trade any records for three straight years in the playoffs. The top eight teams in the 10-team WCHA make the playoffs, and Mantha said he hopes UAA's host of newcomers can help the Seawolves get over the hump this season.

Last season, UAA finished 10th with a 6-16-6 conference record. The team went 7-21-6 overall.

"We have a lot of new good players who can impact our team in a positive way," Mantha said. "I'm looking forward to this weekend, playing North Dakota.

"We'll have a good idea where we sit and what we need to work on."

A returning assistant captain, Mantha said he's working on stepping out of his comfort zone and trying to be a more vocal leader.

"Coach (Matt) Thomas and I have been talking about it for a couple years now," Mantha said. "Obviously leading by example is something I try to do every day … but he wants me to be a little more vocal, 'cause I'm a guy that's pretty quiet in the room."

Slowly, Mantha is making that happen. When he arrived four years ago, he didn't speak much English. So he stepped out of his comfort zone and spent time talking with teammates, professors and classmates.

Sometimes Mantha would make a mistake — Anholt likes to tease him about the time he said "chest naked" when talking about not wearing a shirt — but he'd get over it and move on, just like he does on the ice when an opponent scores a goal.

"You just learn and try not to repeat (mistakes), and take some risk," Mantha said.

Mantha said he hopes to go pro and play hockey as long as he can, but when his sports career is over, he'll have a mathematics degree to fall back on.

He puts the same amount of effort into his classes as he does his hockey and is on pace to graduate this spring with a 4.0 GPA.

"I've been enjoying my time up here, I wouldn't trade it for anything," Mantha said. "I wish I could start all over again.

"I've been playing the best hockey of my life and I've been having so much fun."

Haider returns to broadcast booth

Kurt Haider will return to the broadcast booth for UAA hockey games this season, the school announced Wednesday.

After serving two seasons as the voice of the now-defunct Alaska Aces of the ECHL, Haider is back with the UAA hockey team. He first called games for UAA in 1996.

Haider will broadcast UAA's 17 home games, which will be shown on WCHA.tv and on GCI channels 907 and 1.

The Seawolves open the regular season Friday against No. 7 North Dakota at Sullivan Arena.

4 tabbed as captains

Senior forward Matt Anholt will serve as team captain for the second straight season, coach Matt Thomas announced this week.

Three players will serve as assistant captains — senior goalie Olivier Mantha, senior forward Tad Kozun and sophomore Nolan Nicholas.