UAA’s emergency hockey goalie started school year as sports media intern

UAA freshman Ronan Klancher was a sports media intern and nearly two years removed from his last competitive hockey game when he asked UAA hockey coach Matt Thomas about joining the Seawolves as a walk-on.

UAA had only two goalies on its roster — four-year starter Olivier Mantha and freshman Brody Claeys — after freshman Kristian Stead suffered a season-ending knee injury in September.

One day after taking video of a hockey press conference for UAA athletics, Klancher turned off the camera and asked Thomas one last question: Do you guys need another goalie?

To his surprise, Thomas said yes.

"I kind of just asked Matt, 'Hey, you guys need another goalie because I'd heard Stead was out for the year?' " Klancher said. "It was kind of like why not just ask? What's the worst that can happen?"

Thomas recognized Klancher from his time playing hockey for  Service High and UAA needed another body in practice to relieve some stress off Mantha and Claeys. The timing and fit were perfect.

"We found out that he was a full-time student and was working in athletics and it seemed to be a good fit," Thomas said.

The process to clear Klancher for Division I athletics was long and daunting — he had to basically submit his entire life story and medical history, "including every stubbed toe," he said — but he was eventually allowed to join the team in November.

His primary role is to go into the net whenever Mantha or Claeys need a breather in practice and he often stays late after practice to take shots from guys who want a little extra work.

"I do whatever the players want me to do," Klancher said. "I'm there to help them, I'm not there for myself."

Klancher said even though he's just a walk-on emergency goalie, and he doesn't travel with the team, his short time with UAA is the best he's ever been treated on the ice.

"They're a funny bunch of guys and they care about their own team," Klancher said. "They treat me like I belong there, which I'm pretty sure I don't, but they're treating me like I do."

Klancher grew up in Anchorage and started playing hockey when he was 6 years old. He chose goalie because it was the position of his older brother, Angus, and he stuck with it because he liked the pressure.

"It's the most important position on the team," he said.

[Success is in the details for UAA goaltender Mantha]

In high school, Klancher posted a respectable .957 save percentage and suffered one regular-season loss during his sophomore season in 2014-15. The Cougars won the regular-season Cook Inlet Conference title that season before falling in the first round of the state playoffs.

But Klancher's high-school career was cut short after he suffered a bad concussion during his junior season in January 2016. He missed the rest of the season and decided to sit out his senior year to focus on academics and baseball.

At 5-foot-9, Klancher knew his chances of playing hockey beyond high school were slim and he doubted he'd ever don the mask and goalie pads again.

It wasn't until the injury to Stead that Klancher thought there was even a glimmer of a hope to play again. The opportunity happened by being in the right place at the right time and having Thomas give him a chance.

"He's been good, he's done his job and what we've asked him to do," Thomas said. "Anytime you're out of the competitive hockey world for any stretch of time, it's tough to get back into it. He's a guy who's been working hard."

Klancher is also still doing his internship with UAA athletics. He helps manage the UAA sports Twitter accounts and takes video and edits the press conferences after games.

The best part, though, is helping broadcast the hockey games, he said. Klancher does UAA's home hockey broadcasts with announcer Kurt Haider on WCHA.tv and GCI cable Channels 1 and 907.

The days are long, sometimes starting with early morning hockey practices and ending at 11 p.m. after UAA hockey or basketball games.

And Klancher knows he's only on the Seawolves squad to fulfill a very specific role on the team, but he's just happy to be contributing to a team he grew up idolizing as a kid.

"I've always watched UAA since I was like 2," he said. "I've been coming to the games every single year.

"Now I'm one of the guys."