Zamboni driver and emergency goalie David Ayres entered the Carolina Hurricane’s Saturday night matchup with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
On Saturday night, the Carolina Hurricanes saw both of their goaltenders suffer injuries. James Reimer and Petr Mrázek exited the matchup with the Toronto Maple Leafs, which left Carolina with just one choice.
The Canes decided to bring in 42-year-old Zamboni driver David Ayres to be their goalie. He entered with a 4-1 lead in the second period and just had to conjure up enough saves to ensure the victory for Carolina…which is exactly what he did.
The moment a Toronto Marlies and Mattamy Athletic Center Zamboni driver becomes an NHL goalie. ?pic.twitter.com/fH5pZHAgEJ
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) February 23, 2020
After initially allowing two goals on two shots, Ayres racked up eight saves en route to a 6-3 win. He was the games’ first star and is now 1-0 as an NHL goaltender.
Ayres works as a Zamboni driver and arena maintenance worker at Coca-Cola Coliseum, home to the AHL’s Toronto Marlies. He’s additionally a practice goalie for both the Marlies and Maple Leafs.
It’s unclear what Ayres’ immediate future may hold though, especially after this appearance.
"It was awesome. Time of my life out there."
After coming in as the emergency goalie for the @Canes, David Ayres spoke with @SNkylebukauskas about picking up his first @NHL win. pic.twitter.com/pNaxv6z880
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) February 23, 2020
“Obviously that second period was a little shaky, but I told the boys in the dressing room that once we come out for the third I’ll be settled down and ready to win this one,” Ayres said after the victory. “I got a bunch of text messages that said to get in there and then someone came in the room and said ‘hey, you better get dressed, you’re going out there.’ I was a little shocked, but I’m loving it.”
All in all, the Canadian played an enormous role in the Hurricanes’ 35th victory of the year. They’re now 35-22-4, sitting in fifth place in the Metropolitan Division.
