Zamboni driver enters in emergency, leads Canes victory; to visit Raleigh on Tuesday
In what might be considered the feel-good story of the 2019-20 NHL season, injuries Saturday forced the Carolina Hurricanes to literally put the Zamboni driver in at goalie against the Toronto Maple Leafs — and he led them to victory.
When Hurricanes goalies James Reimer and Petr Mrazk were both injured and removed from the game, David Ayres, 42, a Zamboni driver for the Toronto Marlies of the AHL, entered as an emergency goalie. All NHL teams are required to have an emergency goalie at each home game who is available to either team in case of injuries. Ayres was at Saturday’s game in Toronto.
After giving up a pair of goals late in the second period, Ayres didn’t allow a goal in the third period in a 6-3 Carolina win. Ayres saved 8 of 10 shots, stopping all seven Leafs shots in the third in becoming the first emergency goalie to notch an NHL victory..
Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour said he spoke with Ayres after the second period, saying he told him, “Stop the puck, buddy.”
“We told him we were going to go after it in the third and not sit back ... and you’re going to have to make a save or two. What a moment for him that he can have the rest of his life. That’s incredible. That’s why you do this.”
According to the Hurricanes website, the team is bringing Ayres to Raleigh for Tuesday’s game against the Dallas Stars. He will serve as the team’s siren sounder.
Brind’Amour said after the game that Reimer would be “out for a while” but was not sure about Mrazek. Defenseman Brett Pesce also left the game with an injury.
Reimer started the game for the Canes but was injured at 3:07 of the first when Canes defenseman Jaccob Slavin was pushed into him by the Leafs’ Zach Hyman. Reimer continued for a few minutes before leaving the game with a lower-body issue.
Mrazek, who started Friday’s game against the New York Rangers, came into the game in relief. But Mrazek then was injured at 11:19 of the second after leaving the net to play the puck, by flattened by the Leafs’ Kyle Clifford, and had to leave the game with an upper-body injury after being down on the ice for several minutes as head athletic trainer Doug Bennett again was needed.
But Ayres was ready, accepting the challenge. According to the NHL, Ayres was the second-oldest player, regardless of position, to make his NHL debut. Lester Patrick was 43 when he made his debut -- on March 20, 1927 with the New Rangers.
Ayres, who underwent a kidney transplant in 2004, had served as the emergency goaltender for the Charlotte Checkers, the Canes’ American Hockey League affiliate, in a Feb. 1 game against the Marlies -- staying on the bench as a backup -- but this was different. This was an NHL game between two teams fighting for playoff position in the Eastern Conference.
“It was wild, it was pretty fun,” Ayres told the media in Toronto. “I thought I wouldn’t be nervous if it ever happened but I was nervous for the whole second period. I told the boys, ‘When I come out for the third I’ll be ready to go.’
“The guys were awesome. They said, ‘Just have fun with it, don’t worry about how many goals go in, just enjoy it. This is your moment, enjoy it.’”
Ayres was the named the game’s first star. Some debut. He enjoyed it.
“It’s pretty special,” Brind’Amour said. “I told the guys after the game that I just thank him. It gave me an incredible memory. Just the way that game unfolded and how hard we were playing, you kind of think, oh well, how is this going to end up? Just the way we dug in and said, ‘We’re not going to lose this game,’ that was special.”
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Warren Foegele scored twice, Martin Necas had a goal and an assist, and Lucas Wallmark, Nino Niederreiter and Teuvo Teravainen also scored for Carolina.
Alexander Kerfoot, Pierre Engvall and John Tavares scored for Toronto, which beat the Hurricanes 8-6 at home on Dec. 23. Kasperi Kapanen and Tyson Barrie each had two assists. Frederik Andersen made 43 saves.
This story was originally published February 22, 2020 at 9:22 PM.
