“Rudy! Rudy! Rudy!” Moment, for sure! :)
I get very upset when I hear the word “Zamboni.”
Sadly, my dear friend Bronislaw Kazimierz was run over by a Zamboni, and killed, only a few years ago, whilst ice fishing.
Fantastic story! Carolina needed the points as they’re currently in the 8th playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Argh. I forgot that WRAL makes you answer questions in order to read the story.
Similar story here on ESPN - https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/28761372/zamboni-driver-42-stars-emergency-goalie-hurricanes
Feel good story of the week!
I rememeber years ago a guy being interviewed who apparently was a olympic gold medalist (I think it was gold, maybe it was silver or bronze) and he was being interviewed.... Basically he had been recruited from the crowd when a member of the 4 man bobsledding team was injured or became ill (again forget exact details).... and they needed a substitute.... he filled in and they medaled.
Obviously this was long long ago, when something like that could actually happen... He was, I want to say, in his 70s when they interviewed him and I want to say the interview was in the 1980s or 90s.
NHL teams carry two goalies on their roster. For every NHL game, the home team must have a guy in the stands who serves as the emergency third-string goalie for BOTH teams.
This dude was a local Toronto guy who drove the Zamboni for the Toronto junior team. He got a standing ovation from the Toronto crowd even though he came in and was the winning goalie for the VISITING team!
Apparently something miraculous happens in hockey
every 40 years.
IIRC this happened a few years ago when the “EBUG”, who was an accountant by day, got the nod. They made him Player of the Game, IIRC.
I thought the Toronto fans were classy. They could have booed their team, who are very poor defensively, have not been doing well, are causing a lot of controversy in town - and who lost to a Zamboni driver back up.
Instead they put that all aside and cheered for the guy, in their own building.
Hockey fans are in general a classy lot.
This also happened two years ago with Chicago accountant and beer league goalie Scott Foster:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-shaXm7kOM
The same thing happened a year earlier with the Chicago Blackhawks. An accountant was called and suited up for a game and won it.
When this has happened before, the emergency goalie didn’t get paid, as they sign a try-out contract.
If the goalie has previously had a pro contract, I think they get the minimum, maybe $500.
Mrazek was 40 feet away from the goal when he got plowed. The Canes ought to think about having TWO backup goalies if he’s going to play that way. Great story, though.