GONGSHOW GEAR GOALTENDER-OF-THE-MONTH ANNOUNCED
#35 – Daniel Mannella – Oakville Blades
November 5, 2014, Oakville, Ontario – The OJHL announced today that Oakville Blades netminder Daniel Mannella has been named the Gongshow Gear Goaltender-of-the-Month for October after posting a spectacular 1.67 goals against average in eight games played.
Averaging more than 30 shots/game throughout October, Daniel Mannella was the backbone of the Oakville Blades defence, stopping 217 shots during his eight appearances, while posting an impressive .948 save percentage to lead all OJHL netminders. His 1.67 goals against average, also tops in the OJHL during the month, came on the strength of allowing 12 goals in just over 429 minutes of action to post a 4-3-1 record for the club. After opening the month with a 3-0 shutout over division rival St. Michael’s, Mannella was put in midway through the club’s next game versus the Toronto Jr. Canadiens and would stop all 18 shots he faced for a come-from-behind 4-3 victory. He followed that up two weeks later with a highlight-worthy 40 save, 2-2 tie, with the nationally ranked Georgetown Raiders and Mannella currently leads the league with a .936 save percentage and is second with a 1.88 goals against average.
“I’m very grateful to receive the accolade,” said Mannella. I can’t say enough about the rest of the guys on the team. This, to me, is a team award and they deserve a lot of credit. Hopefully we can keep improving and ultimately achieve our goal of winning a championship. Personally, I’d like to play DI hockey in the near future and reach the highest level of hockey my work ethic can take me.”
“Daniel’s brought such a calming presence to our team,” explained Blades’ General Manager Mike Daley. “Last year we had Evan Buitenhuis who was our leader on the ice and in the room as he was very vocal. This year with Daniel, we have a guy who’s always smiling and once his equipment goes on he’s all business. Very rarely does he give up an easy goal, which is what a team wants to see. He makes all the saves he should and some of the saves he shouldn’t. The way Daniel’s played for us this year has given us a chance to compete with the top teams even though we are still a younger team. Last but not least, he’s the ultimate teammate and is working with our other goaltender Brendan McGlynn to help in his development. Daniel and Brendan have a great relationship and are the first to congratulate each other or give a pat on the back when things a
