His first game in the North American Ice Hockey Championship on Saturday in Toronto may be his last, but Dave Ayres, 42, and the entire NHL are not going to forget it. He went from being a spectator to a goalkeeper for the Carolina Hurricanes in the space of an evening.
It took indeed an incredible combination of circumstances for the Canadian forties, in the civilian driver of resurfacing, the machine that resurfaces in the ice, to evolve one evening in the most prestigious championship. He was indeed the "emergency guard," or third guard, a role often entrusted to semi-pros paid $ 500 for a night stand, normally spent in the stands.
He participates in the victory…
A third goalkeeper, made available according to NHL regulations by the home team, only very rarely comes into play. Except that the two “Canes” goalkeepers, James Reimer and Petr Mrazek, were injured. Ayres made his big NHL debut in the 2nd period. Even if he conceded two goals for eight repulsed shots, he allowed the "Canes" to win 6 to 3 on the Toronto ice in front of a public at first incredulous who then warmly applauded him.
“When I was told I had to prepare, I was in shock. I had the strongest moment of my life, ”said Dave Ayres. He is not the first to realize his dream of becoming a pro for an evening. In 2018, the Chicago Blackhawks also had to go to the emergency goalkeeper, Scott Foster, a 38-year-old accountant, who had a flawless attempt by deflecting seven shots against Winnipeg.
Sport
VIDEO. Hockey: Triple fight and the goalkeepers who are fighting, it's Benny Hill in NHL
Sport
NHL: “The higher the level, the more serene it is… The Grenoblois Alexandre Texier (19) already amazes America
- Sport
- guardian
- NHL
- United States
- Support
- Ice Hockey
- Hockey