The 42-year-old Zamboni driver for the Toronto Marlies of the AHL was pressed into duty as the Carolina Hurricanes emergency backup goalie (EBUG) and helped deliver them to a 6-3 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday.
Ayres was called upon after James Reimer left the game with a lower body injury and Petr Mrazek was knocked out of the game after colliding with Maple Leafs forward Kyle Clifford.
Ayres, who has spent the past five years as operations manager at Mattamy Athletic Centre, the former Maple Leaf Gardens, played the final 28:41 and stopped eight of the 10 shots he faced.
His victory on was reminiscent of the last time an
EBUG saw extended game action, when Scott Foster stopped all seven shots he faced
for the Chicago Blackhawks to help defeat the Winnipeg Jets 6-2 on March 30, 2018. Foster, though, was
far from the only unique EBUG story
.
Unlike Foster, however, who entered his game with just over 13 minutes left in that game, Ayres was the goalie of record and earned the win for Carolina.
During the game, nerves and tensions were high, and the Hurricanes were tweeting through it.