First-year pro meets goal in net
Ryan Massa went into his senior year at the University of Nebraska-Omaha with two objectives.
Complete his degrees in finance, banking and portfolio management and make sure his days of competitive hockey did not end with graduation.
“I was an undrafted player growing up, not a lot of opportunities at the next level, professionally speaking,’’ Massa said. “I just went into my last year of college and decided to leave it all out there.’’
In his first professional season, Massa has become one of the ECHL’s top young goal-
tenders for the Orlando Solar Bears (19-19-2-4, 44 points), who will begin a nine-game homestand against the Atlanta Gladiators (26-17-3-1, 56 points) at 7 tonight at Amway Center. He is 11-8-1-1 with a team-best 2.92 goalsagainst average and has accounted for both of Orlando’s shutouts.
Massa’s 38 saves in a 5-2 home victory against the Greenville Swamp Rabbits last Saturday night tied a season high.
“He’s unfazed by things,’’ Solar Bears coach Anthony Noreen said. “I can use the other night as a good example. He gives up a goal, a pretty controversial goal, making it 3-2. He was upset when it first happened. He put it aside and looked at the bigger picture. He knew we had a game to finish.’’
Massa, 25, is from Littleton, Colo., and played youth hockey with Patrick Roy’s sons. The Hockey Hall of Fame goalie and Colorado Avalanche coach gave Massa tips on his game. After two seasons of junior hockey, primarily in Fargo, N.D., Massa signed with Nebraska-Omaha.
He said his first three seasons with the Mavericks were inconsistent. That changed when he was a senior and led Nebraska-Omaha to its first Frozen Four, where it lost 4-1 to eventual champion Providence in a semifinal in Boston. Massa set school records with a 1.96 GAA and .939 save percentage.
Those stats led the National Collegiate Hockey Conference.
“We had a young team, and Ryan covered for a lot of the mistakes,’’ Nebraska-Omaha coach Dean Blais said. “He would anticipate mistakes by defensemen and be ready for the screw-up.’’
Said Massa: “[That season] opened a lot of doors.’’
One of them led to the Solar Bears, where Massa and veteran Rob Madore have played all but one game in goal. Garret Sparks, reassigned to the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League on Thursday after one game with Orlando, a 4-1 victory Wednesday night against the host Florida Everblades.
Besides Massa, other ECHL goalies enjoying promising first pro seasons include Ken Appleby of the Adirondack Thunder, Colin Stevens of the Manchester Monarchs and Vitek Vanecek of the South Carolina Stingrays.
“Ryan asks questions, and he has a good mindset for the position,’’ Madore said. “That allows him to get over the small bumps in the road and keep moving forward.’’
Massa has gone from not knowing whether he would wear his pads and mask again — “I never even fathomed playing hockey as a job’’ — to building a potential future beyond the Solar Bears.
Noreen said if his development continues, Massa (6-0, 180 pounds) could land in the AHL. Blais goes a step further.
“He can play in the NHL if they give him a chance,’’ Blais said. “Everyone likes those big goaltenders now, and Ryan is not one of them. I wouldn’t have traded Ryan for any goaltender in our league last year.’’
Massa fits his job requirements nicely.
“It’s a ton of fun,’’ he said. “I am just really enjoying it.’’