April 15, 2005
Junior forward Gabe Gauthier (Buena Park, Calif.), who powered the Denver Pioneers to back-to-back NCAA Championships with 18 points on 10 goals and eight assists, is the CSTV: College Sports Television/Hockey Commissioners' Association National Division I Player of the Month for March/April. His teammate, goaltender Peter Mannino (Farmington Hills, Mich.), made for a Denver sweep by being selected the CSTV/HCA National Division I Rookie of the Month.
Gauthier, a 5-9, 185-pound forward, tallied seven multi-point games, including three, three-point efforts as the Pioneers went 9-1-0 to finish the season. The 21-year old from Buena Park, Cal., earned WCHA Final Five All-Tournament honors after leading the Pioneers past North Dakota (two goals, including game-winner) and Colorado College. Gauthier tallied three assists in Denver's 4-3 overtime win against Bemidji State at the Northeast Regional in Amherst, Mass., and netted his first career hat trick in a 4-2 win over New Hampshire in the final. He was named the Northeast Regional Most Outstanding Player.
At the Frozen Four, Gauthier scored two goals and added one assist as Denver cruised past Colorado College, 6-2, in the semifinals. He added one goal and one assist in the championship game and led all NCAA Tournament scorers with 11 points on six goals and five assists. Gauthier was one of five Pioneers to earn Frozen Four All-Tournament honors. He finished the season as Denver's leading scorer with 57 points on 26 goals and 31 assists.
Mannino, a 6-0, 190-pound rookie from Farmington Hills, Mich., backstopped the Pioneers to back-to-back NCAA Championships by stopping 85-of-88 shots in two games at the Frozen Four. He stopped a career-high 44 shots in the championship game against North Dakota to earn Frozen Four Most Outstanding Player honors.
In three NCAA Tournament starts, Mannino posted a 3-0 record with a 1.66 goals-against average and a .950 save percentage. His .966 Sv%. in the Frozen Four ranks fifth all-time. Mannino went a perfect 6-0-0 in his March/April starts, posting three shutouts and a 0.83 GAA. He allowed just five goals in six games, with one of those coming on a penalty shot in the NCAA Northeast Regional against New Hampshire.
Mannino blocked 196-of-201 shots (.975) in March/April and his three consecutive shutouts from March 4-19 established a University of Denver school record. He also set a Denver school record for consecutive shutout minutes at 208:42. He was named WCHA Rookie of the Week on March 7 after backstopping Denver to a 5-0 win over Colorado College that earned the Pioneers the co-regular season championship of the WCHA. Mannino finished his freshman season with an 18-4-1 record, a 2.19 GAA and .927 Sv%.
National Player of the Month
Gabe Gauthier, F, Denver, WCHA
National Rookie of the Month
Peter Mannino, G, Denver, WCHA
Honorable Mention Player of the Month
Preston Callander, F, New Hampshire, HEA
Brendan Cook, F, Bemidji State, CHA
David McKee, G, Cornell, ECACHL
Jeff Tambellini, F, Michigan, CCHA
David Wrigley, F, Mercyhurst, AHA
Honorable Mention Rookie of the Month
Matt Climie, G, Bemidji State, CHA
Ben Cottreau, G, Mercyhurst, AHA
Tom Fritsche, F, Ohio State, CCHA
Kevin Regan, G, New Hampshire, HEA
Topher Scott, F, Cornell, ECACHL
