Zamboni Driver By Day, Goalie By Night
It sounds more like a Lifetime movie than an actual event but Saturday night the zamboni driver at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto got called into the game as a goalie.
With about 8 minutes remaining in the second period, David Ayres was preparing to resurface the ice in-between periods. Instead he was asked to put on gear and enter the game as an emergency goaltender. Ayres had played goalie as an amatuer but had never been on the ice in a pro game.
Carolina Hurricane starting goalie James Reimer was injured earlier in the game and back-up Petr Mrazek was injured late in the second period.
Ayres let in the first two shots he faced but shut out the Maple Leafs the rest of the way becoming the first emergency goalie to be credited with a win in NHL history. And his 28 minutes between the pipes was the most for any emergency goalie.