Dave Ayres is 42. He drives a zamboni for Toronto Marlies. And tonight he is the goalie for the Carolina Hurricanes.
Yay! It’s emergency backup goalie time!
Bad news first: Canes starting goalie James Riemer suffered an injury just six minutes into the game. He got nailed by his own teammate, Jaccob Slavin.
Later, relief goalie Petr Mrazek left the crease to play a puck and got leveled by Kyle Clifford.
Mrazek absolutely disassembled by Kyle Clifford pic.twitter.com/g42mzIQ9Hc
— That's Hockey Talk (@ThatsHockeyTalk) February 23, 2020
And with that, the EBUG (emergency back-up goalie) protocol was activated, and Ayres jumped into action.
42-year-old Dave Ayres will take the ice as our emergency back up goalie
Ayres served as EBUG for the Charlotte Checkers on Feb. 1 against the Marlies
— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) February 23, 2020
Dave Ayres is now the goalie for the @Canes pic.twitter.com/1zUz6x4e1f
— Bally Sports: Canes (@CanesOnBally) February 23, 2020
Here’s a great clip from Canes PR pro Pace Sagester.
Showtime for Dave Ayres pic.twitter.com/LdNTMfAnDg
— Pace Sagester (@PaceSagester) February 23, 2020
Imagine that feeling.
And if you look closely, you’ll see Ayres is wearing a mask of the Toronto Marlies, the team for whom he drives the ice resurfacer.
Here’s the deal an EBUG signs. He gets to keep his jersey:
Pay for David Ayres tonight: $500 and his game-worn #Canes jersey. Here's the contract he would have signed during the game. pic.twitter.com/hVbulQGzla
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) February 23, 2020
Last month, Kevin McGran wrote a profile about Ayres for the Toronto Star that I bet everyone is reading tonight. Ayres’ NHL debut is quite a big game. The Canes and Leafs are competing for eastern conference playoff position.
Late in the second period, after allowing two goals, Ayres made his first save. The shot came from Auston Matthews.
The Canes lead 4-3 after two periods. As the second intermission began, both teams saluted Ayres.
Both the Leafs and Hurricanes show Ayres some love after the second. #LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/9pSvTaime9
— Maple Leafs Hotstove (@LeafsNews) February 23, 2020
Final word goes to Steve Dangle:
Worth noting that emergency goalies are undefeated over the past two years.
— Steve “Dangle” Glynn (@Steve_Dangle) February 23, 2020
