David Shantz arrived at Broome County arena less than a half hour before face off, started the game, and stopped 50 of 52 shots prior to the Amerks losing in the shootout against the Binghamton Senators.

Shantz was called up from the Dayton Bombers to start the game because both Mike Brodeur and Tyler Plante aren’t in the best condition to be starting.  Plante’s shoulder is bother him, not sure what’s bothering Brodeur.  Brodeur did not make the trip and Plante can play, but would prefer not too.  Goalie coach Bob Janosz was dressed and ready to be activated as the backup goalie if Shantz did not start in time.

I’ll post a weekend recap tonight, but took a minute to get this posted.

Here’s the story of Shantzs’ arrival from Michael Sharp, reporter for Press & Bulletin in Binghamton:

The whirlwind began about noon Saturday, when David Shantz got word out in Dayton, Ohio, that the Rochester Americans were recalling him for that night’s game in Binghamton.

From there, Shantz booked a flight for Ithaca, landed around 5:30 p.m., then was picked up by Amerks GM Jody Gage. As the two then raced to make the game on time, the team’s goaltending and strength coach Bob Janosz took the ice as Rochester’s second goalie for warm-ups.

Shantz finally walked into the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena around 6:35-6:40 and was in his pads about eight minutes before the teams took the ice. Crazier yet, he was then in the starting lineup.

And crazier still, he then stopped 50 of 52 shots, nearly lifting the Amerks past the B-Sens.

“It was pretty special,” he said afterward. “It would have been nice to pick up the win, but you know what, for the circumstances, just trying to go out there and do my best, especially in this kind of bizarre situation, it felt good.”

Asked if there was a key to getting in there and getting settled, or if he just sort of went with it, he said: “Yeah, pretty much, just play. You don’t have time. Like, you can try to prepare, but when you’re catching flights and tearing through the terminal to catch your connector and stuff, it’s just more like, just put the pads on, compete hard, and just let your instincts take over. So, it was a fun game.”

Pretty impressive trip for Shantz as well as starting the game and putting in a solid performance.

The Amerks don’t play again until Friday when they face off at Blue Cross Arena against the Binghamton Senators again.  We’ll have more on the goalie situation this week.