NYR emergency goalie was on his couch when he was called in last night

Here's something you may not have known, Vanessa de Beaumont reports that every NHL team is required to make an emergency backup goalie available to visiting teams. The Minnesota Wild have former Hamline University reserve / semi-pro goalie Santino Vasquez on call. Last night after Henrik Lundqvist had to relieve Antti Raanta after he took a shot to the head - that backup plan went into action.

...Kirk Olson, the Wild's strength and conditioning coach and house goalie manager, reached out to Vasquez. The former Hamline University reserve, who had been watching the game at home, hurriedly made his way to the Xcel Energy Center.

...

"I live like two minutes away over the bridge. I just grabbed all my (stuff) and got down here."

Vasquez, 26, spent the next two-plus hours sequestered in an auxiliary room across from the Rangers' dressing room, dressed in hockey undergarments wondering whether he would be summoned for the moment of a lifetime and New York's greatest nightmare.

"I was just in here stretching, just hanging out, staying relaxed," he said. "I don't really get too nervous. I've been down here a lot. I would have been ready to play, that's for sure. I know they wouldn't have scored on me every shot."

The Rangers may have been better off with Santino. They lost again, this time 5-2.

Please follow us on Twitter for exclusive stories, Like us on Facebook, Or return home for award winning writing.
Tweet