Fanti named week one NCHC Goalie of the Week

Fanti prepares to take in a shot in the season opener in the NCHC Pod in Omaha, Nebraska on Dec. 1, 2020. Photo by Hunter Dunteman

Just last Wednesday before their first game, men’s hockey Head Coach Scott Sandelin said he didn’t know who would be in goal for the Bulldogs. 

Sandelin, who has coached the UMD Men’s Hockey team for two decades now, wasn’t ready to make any final decisions then. Now, a week and three games later, sophomore Ryan Fanti has been named NCHC Goalie of the Week for the first week of the 2020-21 season. Fanti recorded a .919 save percentage during those three games and averaged a 2.33 goals against average. 

Continuing his impressive start of the season, Fanti saved 26 of 28 shots on goal against North Dakota on Thursday. It was an incredibly physical game that ended in a 2-2 tie after an intense 3-on-3 overtime. 

Since the teams were still tied after overtime, Fanti also had to face a shootout to determine which team would receive an extra point in the NCHC standings. Fanti denied goal opportunities from North Dakota’s Jordan Kawaguchi, Riese Gaber and Shane Pinto allowing Nick Swaney to shoot and score the shootout-winning goal.

Shootout wins only apply to conference standings and not to overall records.

“It’s been a bit of a whirlwind this week. I haven’t really thought about it too much,” Fanti said in regards to the Goalie of the Week award. “It’s kind of just ‘be happy and be proud of it,’ but now we have to put that in the past and get focused on the next challenge. I’m happy with the way [the games] have gone and I’m happy with how the boys have been playing and we just have to make sure that it keeps going.”

Fanti, a Thunder Bay, Ontario native, has been playing hockey since the age of five. Before coming to UMD, he played a season with the Minnesota Wilderness in Cloquet and recorded similar stats to the beginning of this season. While with the Wilderness, he recorded a 2.70 GAA and a .917 save percentage over 39 games. 

His freshman year at UMD, Fanti didn’t make a single appearance. Instead, he observed Hunter Shepard from the bench and used that season as a learning experience. Even though he and Shepard have a very different playing style, he still took a lot away from last season and is looking to apply it to his career in the future.

“He really led by example,” Fanti said in regards to Shepard. “You know that you were always getting his best. Every practice he was there, working as hard as he could, and that translated into games. So, I think that one thing that I take from it is, when it comes to game day or whatever it is, do everything with a reason, try and get better a little bit each day. [Doing that] is what made him so good and so special.”

On top of losing a huge amount of key players last year, the team has also had to deal with the global pandemic. Coronavirus cut their season short last year and postponed the start of this season as well. The Bulldogs were supposed to start their season in October with a scrimmage against Guelph, but their first game didn’t come until Dec. 1against Omaha.

Instead of the regular season that everyone was looking forward to, the NCHC decided to begin the season in a pod and limit the season to conference play only. The pod is located in Omaha, Nebraska and the team will play a total of nine games there before returning to Duluth to finish out their season in a mix of home and away games. 

While in Omaha, the team is only allowed in the hotel and the rink. In between the games, practice and COVID tests, they have free time at the hotel to do homework and prepare for finals, just like everyone else. However, they’ve also been using this time as a way to get even closer to each other. 

“Even though we’re in a hotel this whole time, it hasn’t been boring,” Fanti said on the situation. “We’re really starting to gel. They guys are getting to know each other on more of a personal note instead of just seeing each other at the rink every day.” 

As the games continue on, they are keeping big goals in the back of their heads. Fanti mentioned that they are always looking towards the end of the season and aiming toward the Penrose Cup. 

He also mentioned that they would love to win the conference at the end of the year and strive towards the NCAA championship again. 

“Those are things that will come with time and they’re good to keep in the back of your mind and keep you striving as you make progress throughout the season,” Fanti said. “You always want to reference towards those and really look upon each other and ask yourself the question of are we really doing everything we can to achieve those goals.”

Even though this situation has been a positive one, the team is still excited to come home and finish out the season on familiar ice. Until then, they will finish their last game in the pod on Dec. 19 and come back to play St. Cloud over New Year’s Weekend.