--- title: Backup Hockey Player Becomes Oldest Goalie to Win NHL Debut description: After two goaltenders were forced to bow out, the Carolina Hurricanes had to turn to emergency-backup goalie David Ayres. canonical: https://time.com/5789473/david-ayres-nhl-back-up-goalie/ author: Tara Law article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2020-02-23T20:56:46.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-24T08:17:59.302Z article:section: Sports og:title: Emergency Hockey Player, a 42-Year-Old Zamboni Driver, Becomes Oldest Goalie to Win in NHL Debut og:description: He helped the Carolina Hurricanes to defeat the Toronto Maple Leafs 6 to 3 og:url: https://time.com/5789473/david-ayres-nhl-back-up-goalie/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta617a9ea0bd3cd5e/698a0a9901168273c897f03b/AP20054078580959.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4480 og:image:height: 2520 og:image:alt: Hurricanes Maple Leafs Hockey og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Emergency Hockey Player, a 42-Year-Old Zamboni Driver, Becomes Oldest Goalie to Win in NHL Debut twitter:description: He helped the Carolina Hurricanes to defeat the Toronto Maple Leafs 6 to 3 twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta617a9ea0bd3cd5e/698a0a9901168273c897f03b/AP20054078580959.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Emergency Hockey Player, a 42-Year-Old Zamboni Driver, Becomes Oldest Goalie to Win in NHL Debut > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account.  by [Tara Law](https://time.com/author/tara-law/)  ## Tara Law Feb 23, 2020 8:56 PM UTC  Toronto Maple Leafs left wing Pierre Engvall (47) scores his team's third goal of the game against Carolina Hurricanes emergency goalie David Ayres (90) during second-period NHL hockey game action in Toronto, on Feb. 22, 2020. Toronto Maple Leafs left wing Pierre Engvall (47) scores his team's third goal of the game against Carolina Hurricanes emergency goalie David Ayres (90) during second-period NHL hockey game action in Toronto, on Feb. 22, 2020.Frank Gunn—The Canadian Press via AP)  by [Tara Law](https://time.com/author/tara-law/)  ## Tara Law Feb 23, 2020 8:56 PM UTC After two goaltenders were forced to bow out of a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday, the Carolina Hurricanes had to turn to an unlikely source for help: emergency-backup goalie, 42-year-old David Ayres. Ayres, a building operations manager, practice player for the Toronto Maple Leafs, practice player for the AHL team Toronto Marlies and sometimes [zamboni driver](https://www.nhl.com/hurricanes/news/legend-of-goaltender-dave-ayres/c-315433228), admitted afterwards [to ESPN](https://twitter.com/NHL/status/1231417249942163462?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw) he was shocked by the request. It’s very rare for National Hockey League; a pro team hasn’t called on their emergency-backup goalie or “EBUG”[ since 2018](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). But Ayres managed to make history in more ways than one, becoming the first emergency goalie to win a game and the oldest goalie to win a regular season debut, according to [_Sports Illustrated_](https://www.si.com/nhl/2020/02/23/emergency-backup-goalie-david-ayres-hurricanes-win). He also stayed on the ice for 28 minutes and 41 seconds, clocking the longest time in a game for an emergency backup. “Once in a lifetime. I’ll take it,” [Ayres said](https://twitter.com/NHL/status/1231417249942163462) after the game. > [](https://twitter.com/NHL/status/1231417249942163462) Ayres told ESPN that he was nervous when he first took the ice in the second period, when the Maple Leafs went on to score two goals. However, he went on to stop eight more shots, helping the Hurricanes to defeat the Leafs 6 to 3. Ayres said that his teammates’ support helped to calm him down, especially when he was approached by forward Erik Haula, who told him, “Just have fun. We don’t care if you let 10 goals in.” Ayres recounted to ESPN. “That settled me down.” Hurricanes coach [Rod Brind’Amour](https://www.nhl.com/hurricanes/news/recap-canes-emergency-back-up-goaltender-ayres-top-maple-leafs/c-315412060) said later that the game would be a special memory for everyone. “You kind of think, oh well. How is this going to end up? We just dug in and said we’re not going to lose this game. For him, what a moment he’ll have for the rest of his life. That’s incredible. That’s why you do this,” Brind’Amour said. > [](https://twitter.com/NHLGIFs/status/1231393230320787456) Ayres said in [post-game interviews](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGGFpS82GrU) that he had a kidney transplant 15 years ago, and he thought his hockey career would be over. He said that his passion for the game enabled him to keep going. After the game, Ayres was named the first star (the best of three players recognized at the end of the game) and was honored with a water-bottle shower by his teammates. “I had no idea I was going to get a shower before I got in the shower…. these guys are awesome,” [Ayres said](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGGFpS82GrU). He added that he plans to hang up his jersey from the game. Ayre’s wife, Sarah Ayres, also express her excitement on Twitter. “I am the happiest, proudest woman on the planet because my human got to live out his ultimate dream… I’m also surprised I still have a voice,” she wrote. > [](https://twitter.com/35Ayres/status/1231453448555704320) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5789473/david-ayres-nhl-back-up-goalie/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5789473/david-ayres-nhl-back-up-goalie/"},"headline":"Emergency Hockey Player, a 42-Year-Old Zamboni Driver, Becomes Oldest Goalie to Win in NHL Debut","datePublished":"2020-02-23T20:56:46.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T08:17:59.302Z","description":"He helped the Carolina Hurricanes to defeat the Toronto Maple Leafs 6 to 3","url":"https://time.com/5789473/david-ayres-nhl-back-up-goalie/","keywords":["hockey","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta617a9ea0bd3cd5e/698a0a9901168273c897f03b/AP20054078580959.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tara Law","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tara-law/"}],"articleSection":"Sports","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta617a9ea0bd3cd5e/698a0a9901168273c897f03b/AP20054078580959.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Hurricanes Maple Leafs Hockey","caption":"Hurricanes Maple Leafs Hockey","creditText":"Frank Gunn—The Canadian Press via AP)","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/sports/","name":"Sports"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/hockey/","name":"hockey"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5789473/david-ayres-nhl-back-up-goalie/","name":"Emergency Hockey Player, a 42-Year-Old Zamboni Driver, Becomes Oldest Goalie to Win in NHL Debut"}}]}] ```