A graduation, a program departure and an injury has thrust sophomore Devin Cooley into the role of Denver’s main masked man. And it’s worked out pretty well, to put it mildly.

The goalie’s first four starts of his college career have yielded a 3-0-1 record with a 1.43 goals-against average and a .943 save percentage. Not bad for a guy who wasn’t sure exactly where he fit in the Pioneers’ pecking order but knew there would be opportunities to play some games this season.

The Los Gatos, Calif., native took time to talk with Magness Mayhem recently about making the most of the opportunity that presented itself when freshman Filip Larsson went down with a lower-body injury during preseason practice as well as his passion for music and his fine feathered friend.

Did you have anyone in your family who played hockey before you?

No one on the ice. My dad played some roller hockey with his buddies while he was at San Jose State.

Who are some of the goaltenders who have influenced you?

When you’re talking the NHL, I love the way Matt Murray (of the Pittsburgh Penguins) plays. Guys like Pekka Rinne, with his size. Then there are guys I don’t play much like but they’re fun to watch, like Jonathan Quick or Sergei Bobrovsky. Everyone has a different style, but Murray and Rinne are two whose style (and height, Cooley also is 6-foot-5) is similar to mine. But you can learn a lot from all of them, they’re the best in the world.

Your teammates and coaches have told me at various times this fall how well prepared you came into the season. What sort of training did you do over the summer?

I trained in Massachusetts at Merrimack’s facilities. I met (Arizona State goalie) Joey (Daccord) playing at Muskegon in juniors, and he told me about his dad’s program. They have on-ice training, off-ice training, yoga, vision training. I lived out there for two months with some of the other guys who were training, and my girlfriend lived out there about an hour away. I’d got Monday through Thursday and skate, work out, do yoga and then work on vision training. It was an all-day thing. On Friday I would go to my girlfriend’s local gym and do (strength coach Matt Shaw) Shawzy’s workout for the Denver hockey program.

They have, in my opinion, some of the best goalie coaches around. For me, having a lot of size but not having done a lot of technical work growing up in California, it was exactly what I need. My first summer there full-time was two summers ago and they basically completely re-did my game from scratch. My first two weeks on the ice I’d go out on the ice with no pucks, no anything and they’d have me stand up straight, then go down into a butterfly. Then back up and down to another position. They completely reworked all of my muscle memory. Last summer was more fine tuning everything, getting everything ready because I knew I was going to have an opportunity here whether as a backup or starting. I wanted to get as prepared as possible, and I had a really good summer. I did everything I possibly could.

What prompted you to play goalie?

I started playing when I was around 5. My mom took my older brother, who was a Boy Scout, and my mom was a Boy Scout leader to a public skate. I went out on the ice. I just picked it up, so the next year my parents decided to get me into hockey. I spent the next three years as a player. Every now and then I’d get to borrow the goalie pads and play in net and I just loved in. I started playing in roller hockey during the summer, and one time the other team needed a goalie so I put on the pads, and I loved it. I told my dad I had to do it. My dad got me my own set of goalie gear and I never looked back.

Shifting gears, what is the breakfast of champions?

I like to make omelettes with some spinach on the side, orange juice and two slices of toast on the side.

I’ve heard you have some legit deejay skills. How did those come about?

At the beginning of last year I asked some of the upperclassmen if I could  I deejay at some of the parties and get togethers. I brought all my own stuff and started to do it. After that, other athletes (at DU) heard it and hired me to do their parties and events and stuff. Sororities and local bars starting hiring me, and it turned into this whole thing. Music is one of my biggest passions besides hockey, so it was really cool to do that on weekends.

Do you play any musical instruments?

Yeah, I play piano, ukulele and guitar. I make my own music in my spare time on the computer. I started producing music first then got into deejaying after that. … I have acoustic and electric guitars. I got the electric guitar so I can plug it into my audio interface and into my computer. You can do a lot more with it.

The piano is my favorite instrument of the three. Everything rolls through it. I do all my producing with it. I taught myself through videos. … My mom has a grand piano at home, so she’s into it. As is my dad.

I’ve also heard that you have a pet bird. Can you tell us about it?

I have a blue parakeet. He’s actually on the back of my helmet. … He hangs out in my room.

How do your roommates react to the bird?

They think it’s funny. I live in the basement, so they don’t really hear him. My roommate, Jared Resseguie, lives locally and took care of him this summer. His mom really liked him. … My girlfriend is a pretty big fan of him, too.

Who are the team comedians?

I think Michael Davies is pretty funny. There’s a lot of guys that make me laugh. I think Jack Doremus, another one of my roommates, is pretty funny, too. … You know what, Kohen Olischefski is the funniest guy. I pretty much laugh at everything he says. Sometimes it’s not that funny but I still laugh.

Is there anything about the coaching staff we should know?

I can’t really think of anything beyond how much Tavis (MacMillan) loves his suits.

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