Shelley cherishes first appearance Dream comes true for UM goalie

It was one of those moments that Ryan Shelley will always cherish.

The University of Maine’s third string goalie had practiced for a year and a half but had never appeared in a game until last Saturday night’s 7-2 exhibition win over the United States National Team Development Program’s Under-18 squad.

The sophomore got the call to replace starter Matt Lundin with seven minutes remaining and the Gray native received a nice ovation when he was introduced. He made three saves and didn’t allow a goal in his mop-up role.

The fans chanted his name after he made a save and they did so again at the conclusion of the game which prompted junior center and assistant captain Michel Leveille to bang his stick on the ice, getting everyone’s attention in order to bring Shelley out for a curtain call.

“It was awesome. It was a dream come true. It was a great experience,” said Shelley, who acknowledged that he heard the crowd chanting his name.

“I loved it. It’s something I’ll never forget,” said Shelley.

Shelley was also grateful to Leveille for bringing him out for the curtain call.

“It was awesome. That’s what makes this team special. There’s a great bunch of guys on this team and everyone cares for each other,” said Shelley.

Leveille said, “When I heard the crowd, I yelled for him to get back out there. He puts so much time and effort into it. He’s out there every day but he hadn’t gotten any ice time. It was great. He played well for the minutes he was in. It was fun to see him out there.”

Shelley thought he might have a chance to get in after Maine expanded its lead to 7-2 but he wasn’t sure if he would get the call.

“All of a sudden, I was told I was going in on the next whistle. I grabbed my helmet and I was in the net. I was happy to get in there. I didn’t have time to get nervous,” said Shelley who came to Maine from the Portland Junior Pirates two years ago.

He was a first team all-state Class A selection at Cheverus High School in Portland in 2002-2003 and was a finalist for the Travis Roy Award given to the state’s top senior player.

Shelley is backing up freshman Ben Bishop and sophomore Lundin after backing up Jimmy Howard and Lundin a year ago.