'Every goalie's dream': Beer leaguers hail David Ayres as instant hockey hero

In the hockey world, it will go down as one of the best stories of the year. But for goalies slogging it out in beer leagues across Ottawa, it was the ultimate fantasy come true.

David Ayres, a 42-year-old Zamboni driver and backup, backup goalie, gets the call. Saves the game. Gets the win. Hits the talk show circuit. Could a Hollywood deal be far behind?

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"It's every goalie's dream. Maybe one day it will happen to me," said goalie Brett Taylor, 30.

"Even when you say you're not good enough, or you play house league, it's always in the back of your head — like, what if, one day?"

Gear's in the car, 'just in case'

Like, what if you're in the stands at an NHL game and suddenly there's a panicked announcement over the P.A.: "Is there a goalie in the house?"

"I've gone to Sens games and I've kept my equipment in my car, just in case something happened," Taylor admitted.

Seriously? "Yes, you never know."

After all, it has happened before.

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But Taylor said if he had a chance to talk to Ayres, it would be about his day job as a Zamboni operator, not his dream job as a goalie. "I hate when my crease is too wet, so I'd tell him to take care of the creases a little bit better."

Jacob Di Girolamo, 20, who played in net for Symmes-D'Arcy McGee High School in Gatineau's Aylmer district, and is now a goalie coach for novice up to bantam, enjoyed watching Ayres's performance Saturday.

"It was outstanding. Me and a lot of my friends who also play goalie were extremely excited, and of course you always think, wow, that could maybe be me."

To me, he's a hero figure.- Jacob Di Girolamo, goalie

Di Girolamo especially likes the obscure rule that allowed it to happen. "I don't know if there are any other sports that have a rule like that where someone that's not really in the league can just jump in," he said.

"To me, he's a hero figure, and I'm sure for a lot of guys who play beer league, even more so."

Long walk down the tunnel

Brent Dark, 62, is a lifelong goalie who played junior and university varsity hockey in Saskatchewan, and now coaches in Ottawa. He was watching the game "and was mesmerized by what was going to happen."

Dark remembers getting called up to a junior team once "and [I] sat there as a 15-year-old quite scared, hoping I'd never get in the game."

I would have lived for that opportunity. That's something you tell your grandchildren.- Brent Dark, goalie

So how would Ayres have felt as he made his way down the tunnel? "His nerves must have taken hold when he was putting on his pads and walking down the corridor. I don't think anyone who has not played the position realizes how stressful it can be. So that was a long walk out to the ice surface." 

Would he trade skates with Ayres in that moment? "Oh, I would have lived for that opportunity. That's something you tell your grandchildren." 

A different take

CBC's own Dan Séguin minds the net in a 50-and-up rec league in Kanata. He thinks the story says more about the Toronto Maple Leafs than David Ayres.

"The guy didn't do much. It was really Carolina who did such an incredible job of stopping the Leafs from having a chance to shoot at this guy," Séguin said.

"But I think it looks poorly on the NHL that you can allow anybody to come in and win an NHL hockey game. It just denigrates the league. I don't like that it happened, but I think it's a great story for him personally."