Sophomore defenseman Erich Fear is carving out a nice niche for himself on the Denver back line, often pairing with freshman Griffin Mendel to give opponents nearly 13 feet of pain to think about in the DU D zone. The thoughtful finance major took time recently to fire away at some sweet feeds from the Mayhem.

What is the breakfast of champions?

I like make a simple spinach and sausage omelette. Some mornings I’ll have some oatmeal, too.

Do you have any superstitions or are you particular about any pieces of gear?

Like Evan Ritt said, “I’m not superstitious, I just have routines.” … Here’s one piece of my gear (equipment manager Nick) Meldrum would talk to you about – I’m really particular about my skates, like I’m sure all hockey players are. I make Meldrum mold them a couple of times and then use a tool to punch out some areas on the boots to create a more comfortable fit, create some space in some places. Every year when I get new skates it’s always a process to find the right spots to have punched out to get my boot comfortable. Meldrum gets pretty frustrated with me by the end of that, but I get really particular about my skates.

What size skate do you wear?

I have an 11 1/4, which is pretty sweet. I didn’t know Bauer did quarter sizes, but I guess that’s a perk of making it to college hockey.

Who is the funniest teammate on the Pioneers?

I’d say Dayton Rasmussen, a freshman goalie this year. My brother actually is a goaltender so I’ve grown up being accustomed to the weird personalities that are attracted to playing in that position. Dayton reminds of that. He’s a super nice guy, and a good guy to have on the team, but I think of our quirkier characters in the locker room. He’s usually good for saying something to crack guys up.

Which teammate of yours should run for president?

I know Sean Mostrom said me. That’s pretty funny. I would say Tyson McLellan. He’s as a player, he’s a coach’s son, and I mean that in a good way. He’s a student of the game, he takes pride in leadership and I think some of those skills could translate to taking on a role like president.

What’s some of the best advice you’ve received?

Here’s a simple one. Growing up, whenever I was going to practice or going to school, the simple piece of advice my dad would give me consistently was smile, have fun and work hard. He said that over and over. It has gotten me to a pretty good place in my life so I’d say that’s the best advice I’ve gotten.

Did your dad or another family member have a background in hockey?

He did not. He played baseball and was a pitcher at Michigan State his freshman and sophomore years before he moved on to other things. We moved to Chicago when I was young, and as young kids our parents let us try everything. I was drawn to baseball as most young guys are. I got into a skating class just because my parents wanted me to skate. I looked across the rink and saw a hockey class going on and I said that looks like fun. Skating is boring, let’s throw a puck in there and play a game. I got started playing when I was 4 or 5. I had fun with that, then went into house league, then travel B and AAA for a couple years with Chicago Young Americans because they were close to home and eventually moved on to Chicago Mission, then got serious about playing junior, playing in college. The goals just always got bigger. I loved the game, I made a lot of good friendships and had fun moments winning championships, that kind of thing. I always had fun, and the goals kept changing from I want to earn a spot on the high school team to now I want to earn a spot on a college team and eventually maybe play some professional hockey some day. … I credit my parents a lot for letting me go with what I liked. I stopped playing baseball before high school to focus on hockey and my dad didn’t mind one bit. He knew I was doing some great things playing hockey for Mission and trying to pursue playing hockey in college.

How do you think an NCAA Division I hockey program in Illinois would affect youth hockey there and the college hockey landscape in general?

As we’ve seen with new programs like Penn State and Arizona State – you can be competitive. We played Penn State in the tournament last year. It requires a lot of time and resources to start a program, but there’s a lot of good programs out there. And specifically Northwestern and Illinois there’s a lot of good hockey players in the Chicago area and St. Louis and the Midwest. It would be really cool to play hockey in Chicago all the way growing up and then have a college hockey team you could play for like kids in other areas of the country get to do. If they could get a team up and running it would probably be pretty successful pretty quickly.

What would be your ideal Thanksgiving meal?

I’m a big fan of tradition and being with family. Ideally it would be the way it’s been done. Cooking up a bird, having some turkey. We usually make some sweet potatoes, green beans, a spinach dish and the cranberry sauce. For dessert, my mom makes a really good pumpkin cheesecake, which is different from the traditional pumpkin pie.

What are you most thankful for?

Since we’re in November and getting into the Thanksgiving mood, I’m most thankful for my family and their support and the opportunities my parents have provided me with and helped me to pursue.

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