As a math major at the University of Alaska-Anchorage, Olivier Mantha is pretty handy with numbers.
On the ice, though the season is just two games old, his numbers look pretty good and his performance in the season-opening set against NCAA power North Dakota earned him the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) goalie of the week honours.
The native of La Tuque, Que. stopped 74 of 78 shots fired his way by the visiting Fighting Hawks, earning a tie and an overtime loss. Mantha made 32 saves in a 1-1 tie in the first game of the weekend set and followed that with 42 saves in a 3-2 overtime setback.
The former Penticton Vees standout had a .948 save percentage for the weekend to go along with a 1.90 goals-against average.
In the 2013-14 season, his lone campaign in the BCHL, Mantha posted a 17-8 mark to go along with a .917 save percentage and a 2.15 goals-against average. He and his Vees crease partner Hunter Miska shared the Wally Forslund Trophy that season as the BCHL’s top goalie tandem.