Preds' Ryan Santini excels in goal against Bradford, Tottenham

Niagara Predators number one goalie Ryan Santini backstops his teammates with a sense of calm. Peek closely behind his protective cage any time in the middle of a game and you are likely to spot a beaming smile on his face. 

That calm confidence and joy exuded by the Montreal native came in handy this weekend as he faced 115 shots over the team’s two games. Santini stopped 45 of 51 off the sticks of the second place Bradford Bulls Friday, for a 6-2 loss and turned away all 64 Saturday in a 4-0 road win in Tottenham.

“I’m sure I never faced that many shots before,” Santini said over the phone from his billet home in Virgil. “It was definitely a lot of fun. The more shots you face, the more entertaining the night becomes. It was hard work, but we came out with two points over the weekend.”

The metaphorical brick wall created by Santini was the biggest factor in the Predators keeping Friday night’s Greater Metro Junior A Hockey League (GMHL) home game against Bradford close. 

Some speedy challenges by the Bulls in Niagara’s zone caused a few turnovers early on, but Santini kept shutting the door. The Preds had an early opportunity on a two-on-one break but the puck bounced over newcomer Andras Kehl’s stick and into the corner. Minutes later, forward Declan Fogarty rang a shot off the goalpost in another missed chance. 

With captain Max Bredin in the penalty box, the Bulls Esa Patton got his team on the scoreboard at 10:03. Only 52 seconds later Keegan Darragh added another Bradford goal on a wrist shot from the blueline that beat a screened Santini.

Despite being outshot 20-6 in the first period the Preds found themselves behind only 2-0 when the first 20 minutes ran out. 

But Bradford’s Jake Alton and Andrew Reynolds both scored in the first eight minutes of the second period, putting the Bulls up 4-0. It seemed like the game was potentially headed toward a lopsided blowout, but Santini kept finding ways to shut the door. 

Finally, Jaroslav Dohnal beat Bulls goalie Dominic Marquis on a four-on-three power play situation at 12:15. Then late in the period Preds forward Anthony Tropea skated into the Bradford end and buried a wrist shot from the boards on Marquis’ far side to close the gap back to two goals.

Patton put the Bulls up 5-2 at 10:55 into the third during a Bradford power play. The Predators tried hard to claw back, and head coach Kevin Taylor pulled Santini in favour of an extra attacker with 1:35 remaining. Darragh, though, notched his second goal of the night on the empty net to seal the victory for the Bulls. 

The Bulls outshot Niagara 51-25 on the evening. 

“Ryan is unreal,” Taylor said, when asked if Santini would win his player of the game honour Friday. “He gave us a chance to win. We didn’t play good enough to earn it, though, when it comes right down to it, but he kept us in the game for sure.”

The Predators travel to Bradford this Wednesday for a rematch, and Santini made sure Taylor knows he wants to start in that rematch. 

“That’s my battle again,” insisted Santini. “That’s my fish to fry. I’m looking forward to that one, it’s going to be a fun one. I hope to get better results than the last game.”

Though numbers are not available, Friday night’s attendance was the highest since the home opener back in September. Many fans were flocking to the finally opened concession stand to pick up a coffee or hot chocolate between periods. There’s something about a hot chocolate in a cold arena that completes the experience of a hockey game.

The Predators had another hockey game the very next day, as they were off toTottenham to face the fifth place Thunder. 

Santini kept up his hot play Saturday night, turning back 17, 21 and 26 shots period by period to pick up his first shutout of his junior hockey career. 

The line of Cameron Savoie (two goals, one assist), Declan Fogarty (one goal, two assists) and Anthony Tropea (three assists) also stayed hot, while Cole Ellis scored an unassisted goal in the second period in the 4-0 victory. 

“It’s a fun feeling to win with these guys,” Santini said, “and really great to get that first shutout. Really, it’s all about keeping the guys invested in the game, keeping it as tight as possible, that’s my role.”

The 21-year-old attended Concordia University last year where he played for the Stingers brand new Reseau du sport etudiant du Quebec (RSEQ) Division 2 team. 

“I was in human resources there,” Santini said, “but decided after last year that it wasn’t really for me. So I’m taking a gap year and I’m hoping that hockey gets me into a good school where I can study kinesiology or exercise science.”

The biggest adaptation for Santini has been realizing that he can actually turn right on a red light in Ontario. He had a few impatient drivers honking at him in his earlier days in Niagara. But overall he’s loving his time here. 

“I’m really happy with the team that I’m on,” he told The Local. “I have great teammates, and I’ve been lucky with my billets. There are really great people here in Niagara-on-the-Lake. We’ve got great support from our fans, too.”

Santini’s been a goaltender since the age of eight, but it was a hard sell for his father, who originally didn’t support his son’s decision. 

“I had to fight my dad about it,” he laughed. “There was one day when all the neighbours were going out to play on the local pond. I had my street goalie gear. I told him I was going to play goalie that day, and he told me I would have to bring all my gear on my own. It was about five blocks away. I was stopping pucks in my street hockey equipment for about four hours. After that he broke down and bought me equipment so I could play goalie on my team.”

Hailing as he does from Montreal, it’s no surprise that his goaltending idol is Carey Price. 

“By far he’s the best goaltender we’ve seen lately in the NHL,” he explained. “He is phenomenal. I know he’s not playing this year, but I think he’ll be back. It’s his calmness, his poise, that I aspire to have in my game.”

Santini is well on his way to emulating his favourite goalie on both fronts. 

“It’s simple,” Santini summed up. “Why play if you’re not having fun? My job is as simple as it can be, to stop six ounces of rubber coming at me. I just do that the best I can every night to give the guys the best shot at winning. No matter how many shots we take, it’s all about the next shot.”

The Predators will be back home this Friday night, hosting Tottenham at 7:30 p.m. at Virgil’s Meridian Credit Union Arena. Then Sunday seventh place Niagara travels to Streetsville to visit the 3-27-0 last place Flyers.