On 22 February 1980, the US Olympic hockey team beat the Soviet Olympic hockey team in what has been called the miracle on ice. Tonight in Toronto a second miracle on ice occurred. The Carolina Hurricanes starting goalie left the game with an injury. During the second period, the Hurricanes back up goalie also left the game with an injury. The NHL has a system in place for this called the emergency backup goalie (EBUG) – it is not played by Robert Picardo. At every arena, during every NHL game, a local goalie is kept in the arena in case one team’s starting and backup goalies are both forced to leave the game. Usually the emergency backup goalie is a local recreational league player or coach who has played the position for a while and they are prepared to suit up for either team. They usually spend the night in one of the luxury boxes, get to watch the game for free, get free food and drink, and then go home at the end of the night. Every so often one of them has to actually dress and go on the ice. Tonight that emergency backup goalie in Toronto was Dave Ayres who is 42 years old and is the Zamboni driver for the Toronto Maple Leafs. And he had to dress and go on the ice.
This is his story!
The Hurricanes lost James Reimer with a lower-body injury in the first period, Petr Mrazek with an upper-body injury in the second period, Brett Pesce with a lower-body injury in the second period, and now have a 42-year-old zamboni driver in net on Hockey Night in Canada.
— Brett Finger (@brett_finger) February 23, 2020
Jaccob Slavin gets hit into James Reimer. Reimer is ruled out for the rest of the game with a lower-body injury. Needless to say, this is a potentially huge deal for the Hurricanes.
Overhead view: pic.twitter.com/3GZELPTV1m
— Brett Finger (@brett_finger) February 23, 2020
Petr Mrazek collides with Kyle Clifford. Mrazek charged way out of the net to play the puck. Clifford gets handed a five-minute major and a game misconduct. James Reimer got hurt in the first period and was ruled out for the game… pic.twitter.com/bFtGU0lTox
— Brett Finger (@brett_finger) February 23, 2020
Legend pic.twitter.com/O684okw2kU
— ??????? Кassie ? (10%) (@sad_ex_machina) February 23, 2020
Also, a kidney donor!
Ayres stands-in as goalie for the @TorontoMarlies (whose helmet he's wearing) and Leafs. 42 and a donor kidney recipient, so this is something of a Cinderella story!
— Ross Whiteford (@redheadednomad) February 23, 2020
Quick 2nd period recap:
Canes goal
Canes goal
Canes goal
Mrazek injured
42-year-old Dave Ayres enters as EBUG
Canes goal
Leafs goal
Leafs goal
EBUG makes save— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) February 23, 2020
What a way to make a debut, Dave Ayres pic.twitter.com/1opzaBgR4t
— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) February 23, 2020
"I said to the boys – even after they scored that second goal – I said, let me get these jitters out of the way. In the third period I'll be ready to go."
My god, this David Ayres is just wonderful. And for the record, he stopped all 7 shots he saw in the third period.
— Brett Finger (@brett_finger) February 23, 2020
In the hallway before the beginning of the third period:
"For us
For Wally
For Ginner
For Davey"
— Michael Smith (@MSmithCanes) February 23, 2020
Other teams in the league tweeted out their support!
We're here for this.
— Arizona Coyotes (@ArizonaCoyotes) February 23, 2020
GO DAVE!!
— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) February 23, 2020
DAVE!!! ❤️?
— LA Kings (@LAKings) February 23, 2020
And the Canes, with a playoff run on the line, were ecstatic about Dave’s performance!
DO YOU BELIEVE IN MIRACLES?!
— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) February 23, 2020
MIRACULOUS pic.twitter.com/EfPObX7V5G
— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) February 23, 2020
The man, the myth, the legend pic.twitter.com/qmhWXSavYj
— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) February 23, 2020
A moment he'll never forget pic.twitter.com/6tr03wNZ5N
— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) February 23, 2020
A memory we'll all have forever pic.twitter.com/LUxqs8o3Wr
— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) February 23, 2020
North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper weighed in.
How about we send him the N.C. flag that flew over the governor’s mansion today as a thank you gift. Kinda like you can do with the USA flags at the Capital building in DC. I think that would be awesome.
— steel4pens (@steel4penguins) February 23, 2020
Open thread!
David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch
Hansen Brothers!
Adam L Silverman
@David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch: There used to be a group of guys who would show up to the Lightning games on a regular basis dressed as the Hansen brothers in Chiefs jerseys with a big Chiefs banner.
Gravenstone
Will always remember hearing about the “Miracle on Ice” during halftime of our HS men’s BB game against our hated rivals. Unfortunately, we were not as fortunate as the US Men’s teams that evening…
Obvious Russian Troll
…and I hardly need to read the whole thing to know the Leafs lost.
Yutsano
Ovechkin got his 700th goal today too. I hope he doesn’t mind taking a back seat to Ayers.
JCJ
Might be the best sports story of the year. Glad he didn’t have too much from the buffet
NotMax
Presumably next in line after him would be Stanley Tweedle.
:)
/Lexxography
TaMara (HFG)
What an awesome night for these guys.
chris
@NotMax: Cool reference!
Scott Alloway
@Obvious Russian Troll: Reminds me of an old song by Joni Mitchell. When she was sitting in a bar.
The Thin Black Duke
Ayers will never have to buy a beer in his life again.
CaseyL
Wonderful story. My heart could use some warming right now :)
One thing, though: EBUG Ayres is the Zamboni driver for the Maple Leafs? So he had to play goalie against his own team… well, sorta his own team?
Gonna be a little interesting the next time he grooms the ice…
FelonyGovt
What a great story. And my Kings are winning… at least so far (going to see them Wednesday night!)
debbie
Great story!
guachi
The only way this could have been better is if the game was in North Carolina as the crowd would have been going nuts.
Thor Heyerdahl
From 2017 – CBC article “Have Pads-Will Play: The dream is never dead for NHL emergency goalies”
As for the original Miracle on Ice, watch for the tangerine twittler to mess up the 40th anniversary (wouldn’t want to make Vova upset about the loss). An attempt below at what he could say.
“Lucky goal by Mike Eurozoney – USSR would have won it big but BAD COACHING pulled Tretchyak. Lake Placid-where the hell is that? Not even big enough for one of my hotels.”
JWR
OT…
About him being a Flat Earther:
smintheus
It helped that the Leafs could barely get a shot on goal – even with a power play – because…well, either the Canes’ defense manned up and shut them down, or because the Leafs just s*ck. Probably a bit of both. The Leafs’ coach was so fed up with their ineptitude that he stapled 4 of the Leafs’ leading players to the bench in the final minutes of the game. It was one of the most humiliating failures for Leafs’ Nation in the last several decades – a period of many humiliating failures for Toronto.
trollhattan
He’s the George Blanda of David Ayres (Ayreses?). Has he ever palled around with Obama?
That’s simply the best, and for no extra charge I learn the term EBUG. And holy shit, four goalies on one game? So glad they got him back on the ice for a curtain call. Then back on the zamboni, I guess.
trollhattan
@JWR:
Couldn’t see that one coming.
My Side of Town
Yeah, how about those 49ers back in the day.
JWR
@trollhattan: Nope, not at all.
Comrade Colette Collaboratrice
@Gravenstone: I’ll always remember hearing the outcome of the Miracle on Ice game while watching it as NBC broadcast it tape-delayed – and with several minutes left the game (as broadcast), the local channel did a station break and their anchor Renee Poussaint came on and announced “USA wins!!! News at 11.”
Yeah, that was great.
The Dangerman
@JWR:
Killed in a HOMEMADE rocket crash.
Darwin Awards can shut down for the rest of the year.
HumboldtBlue
This is when sports make you grin so hard your cheeks hurt.
NotMax
@The Dangerman
Flat Earther, no. Splat Earther, sí .
//
mrmoshpotato
@HumboldtBlue: Competitive Butt Smiling?
HumboldtBlue
@mrmoshpotato:
No, you’re thinking of the Brits’ “squeaky-bum-time” this is just grinning.
mrmoshpotato
@HumboldtBlue: Haha
Josie
@Scott Alloway: I was raised on robbery.
Duane
@Josie: Hadn’t heard that in many years. Thanks.
David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch
They wore MAGA hats.
Sickening.
Booger
I hope someone makes and sells Ayers jerseys. I would buy that piece of sports paraphernalia.
Butter Emails
@David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch:
So what she’s saying is that if the KGB had offered a bribe back then, her dad would have made sure the USSR team won. Good to know.
Jerry
@Booger:
As of right now, you can purchase an official Hurricanes Ayres t-shirt. Not only does he get a cut of the sales, but another cut gets sent to a kidney foundation of Ayers’ choice.
Just One More Canuck
The Leafs are getting roasted over this by the media and their fans over this (I live in the Toronto area but am most definitely not a leafs fan) – this should have been an easy win for them but as much skill as they have, the team just just quits sometimes. The rest of the league is laughing at them
Uncle Cosmo
I’m shocked! shocked! that none of yinz has seen fit to recall Game 2 of the 1928 Stanley Cup Finals, in which New York Rangers goalie Lorne Chabot was knocked out of the game with an injury & (there being no backup goalie on the squad, & the opponent** refusing to allow goalies who were in the crowd to take his place in the nets, the Rangers coach – 44-year-old Lester Patrick – suited up & played the last half of the game in the NY nets, allowing 1 goal & saving 18 of 19 shots in an overtime victory. (The Rangers won the Cup that year – their last for the next 50.)
(FTR I only know about this because it was one of the stories in a book on sports legends Dad got me as a kid. He & I both learned to appreciate the sport much later in life.)
** The Montreal Maroons. There is probably no truth to the rumour :^D that this game inspired that immortal line of Culture Icon & Hero Of The Zeitgeist Bugs Bunny, “Whadda maroon!”
Another Scott
Charlie Pierce makes some good points this morning.:
Ignore the pundits, but recognize the lay of the land. There’s still lots of time and delegates to pick, but it is going to take work for someone to defeat him.
The next debate is Tuesday at 8 PM ET in South Carolina (CBS). Early voting started 29 days before the primary (Saturday 2/29). It should be a lively one…
Cheers,
Scott.
J R in WV
@Jerry:
Wait, now… they play hockey in tee shirts now?
What about a uniform shirt to be real, huh????
Edmund Dantes
@David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch: yeah. Fuck that team.
they could have avoided the hats. They chose to wear them.
Edmund Dantes
Was it last year or the year before where Chicago had to use the emergency backup goalie.
That was another pretty sweet moment.
Edmund Dantes
Found it.
https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/03/30/598263399/36-year-old-accountant-called-in-as-emergency-nhl-goalie-and-he-crushed-it