12 ms·

EBUG: The NHL's emergency backup goalie rule

226 points by noahbrier 4y ago

haunter 4y ago
If anyone curious they don't get paid https://www.dkpittsburghsports.com/2020/10/05/nhl-emergency-backup-goaltender-ebug-rules-dave-ayres-tlh https://www.dkpittsburghsports.com/2020/10/05/nhl-emergency-...
- yucky 4y ago
  I would imagine most fans would pay good money for the opportunity to take the ice. No need for a game check.
- soperj 4y ago
  They mostly do it for the free tickets to games.
mindcrime 4y ago
It is one of the most interesting rules in sports, and does make for some incredible stories on the (rare) occasion when it is invoked. I first heard of this when Scott Foster played for the Blackhawks and thought it was one of the coolest things I'd ever heard of in my life at the time. And I still think this is one of the coolest things ever. Talk about memories that will last a lifetime. Wow.
- noahbrier 4y ago
  Definitely. The videos from the locker room are amazing. https://twitter.com/AnaheimDucks/status/1520238634539962368 https://twitter.com/AnaheimDucks/status/1520238634539962368
- rrock 4y ago
  He saved all seven shots against, if I recall. And one of them he stood on his head.
- leeoniya 4y ago
  also, random dude from audience plays drums for Foo Fighers https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Ll7lfZZjR4A https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Ll7lfZZjR4A
  - tzs 4y ago
    I'd be careful with that link. I clicked a link to a similar video where Dave Grohl invited a kid from the audience to play guitar at a Foo Fighters concert. I watched it, and a couple other videos YouTube suggested involving audience members invited to play during pop or rock concerts. I had never heard of Dave Grohl before watching that video, and had never knowingly listened to Foo Fighters music. I had heard of them, and probably heard some of their songs in passing without knowing it, and that's all. Nevertheless Google apparently decided I was obsessed with Dave Grohl and for the next couple of months my Google News feed has several Dave Grohl stories per day. Very few of them had anything to do with music. They were almost always trashy celebrity gossip such as who Grohl was seen with or when he was drunk and that kind of thing. (And no, I don't normally follow any celebrity gossip--I only see celebrity gossip when a celebrity does something outrageous enough to make the national news, so this wasn't simply Google seeing that I liked gossip and adding Grohl to the mix). I wasn't clicking those stores, and after a couple weeks I started clicking the "fewer stories like this" option, but they still kept almost completely filling up the "For You" part of my Google News feed. I've never had that happen before or since with any other random link I've followed to a video. Just with Dave Grohl and the Foo Fighters.
    - leeoniya 4y ago
      > I'd be careful with that link. not really sure what this means in practice. should i always provide a disclaimer that Google ads will follow you for the next 6 months with every youtube link i post? i install uBlock Origin for everyone i know with a computer, and additionally uMatrix for myself, so have no idea what kind of landfill everyone else has to surf through. sorry, i guess?
- Twirrim 4y ago
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tG-IGNvfrg8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tG-IGNvfrg8 Scott Foster appearance highlights
hirvi74 4y ago
I am a diehard NHL fan and a "beer league" goalie, and it would be my dream to be called up. However, I am acquainted with some individuals that are members of my favorite team's organization. My favorite team apparently has a roster of about 20 people that are "on call" for and given home game. Whether home or away, both teams in any given game can pull from the same roster i.e. the home team keeps the roster for both teams EBUG do not travel with the team or anything. Most of these people are ex-NCAA players or semi-professional players that have had far more success than your average beer leaguer.
- debaserab2 4y ago
  Cmon man, you’re ruining dreams here
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- teruakohatu 4y ago
  > Whether home or away, both teams in any given game can pull from the same roster I am in New Zealand and know nothing about ice hockey, but wouldn't it be risky to accept your opponents recommendation? Wouldn't a fan of their own team be a better bet, even if a worse player?
  - eli 4y ago
    If people got called up all the time that might be a problem. But it'd be impossible to justify the cost of flying extra players around, so the practice would simply end if that were a concern. I don't think many people with a once in a lifetime chance to play in a real NHL game are going to take a dive just so the home team wins.
    - boomboomsubban 4y ago
      > it'd be impossible to justify the cost of flying extra players around, I doubt traveling expense is the limiter, how many years of that would it take to reach even the NHL minimum salary? Teams would try to game the system if they were given more choice, and it'd lead to more decent goalies riding the bench rather than playing in smaller leagues.
_whiteCaps_ 4y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Levesque https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Levesque almost made the list, but the Canucks backup goalie kept playing even though he had broken his wrist!
pvg 4y ago
Previous EBUG thread: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16716279 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16716279 NHL stunner: A 36-year-old accountant who has never played pro stars in Blackhawks win 2018, 85 comments
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
enos_feedler 4y ago
The post-game interview with Scott Foster (one of the stand-ins referenced in the article) is pretty funny: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RB60iaSUIu0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RB60iaSUIu0 Best Quote: "I'm an accountant by day. So a few hours ago I was sitting at a computer typing on a 10 key. Now I'm standing before you guys after playing 14 minutes of NHL hockey". I'll never forget the shock of sitting down to catch sports highlights only to see this interview on TV. I went to high school with Scott Foster so it was a crazy shock.
- OJFord 4y ago
  That is brilliant, come on, surely the best is: > you just keep grinding away in men's league and eventually you'll get your shot ! I can't imagine having something like that happen and having the composure to give an interview like that in the same night.
  - enos_feedler 4y ago
    Thats what impressed me too! He seemed very natural addressing the media.
  - reg_dunlop 4y ago
    It was certainly said tongue in cheek, but I played in the same men's league that Scott Foster played in at Johnny's Ice House in Chicago and one of our players legitimately was called up to a professional team a week after playing a men's league game. Granted it was a low level professional team, and he was called up by a previous coach he had played for, but certainly was worth a couple chuckles.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- aix1 4y ago
  I really enjoyed that interview, thanks for sharing! The guy is a legend.
gzer0 4y ago
If both uniformed goalies are removed, the EBUG, or Emergency Backup Goalie, takes over. An EBUG is a player provided by the host arena but available to either team. They're on a one-day contract, don't normally dress (get into gear), and usually just sit back and watch the game while eating a hot dog. It's typically a local rec league goalie/coach/staff member.
- dbt00 4y ago
  They sit in the press box unless a goalie gets hurt, then the equipment guys get the EBUG a jersey and he gets into his gear just in case he gets called in, but he has to stay in the locker room until or unless that happens.
eschneider 4y ago
Polo also allows drafting players from the stands (If someone goes out injured, you've got 15 minutes to find another player.) and I've seen it happen.
- Mountain_Skies 4y ago
  Auburn University's football team found itself at halftime without enough healthy tailbacks and had to use the stadium's PA system to page a true freshman from the upper deck stands into the locker room to dress out and play his first collegiate game. Not quite the same thing as recruiting a fan from the stands but still a surprise for him, watching the game with his family in street clothes, and the team to have to go to that length to get a replacement player. https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-1990-09-12-9002130697-story.html https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-1990-09-12-90021306...
  - Infernal 4y ago
    Similarly, Brodus was napping at the frat house when he got the call during pre-game warmups to come suit up. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/derrick-brodus-tennessee-football-kicker-frat-house_n_1082194 https://www.huffpost.com/entry/derrick-brodus-tennessee-foot...
- wbl 4y ago
  The kind with the horses? Doesn't it take years to get good enough not to hurt the horse?
boomboomsubban 4y ago
Do they do the same thing for preseason games and it's just not in the rules? Or is there a third dressed goalie generally dressed?
rawling 4y ago
> In 2018, the accountant Scott Foster stopped all seven shots he faced to preserve a win for the Chicago Blackhawks. In 2020, the Zamboni driver David Ayres famously recorded the first-ever win for an EBUG as he denied his hometown Maple Leafs for half a game. If Foster won as EBUG in 2018, how can Ayres have had the first-ever EBUG win in 2020?
- ohwaitnvm 4y ago
  Maybe it's the first away-team win for an EBUG
- patrickpkt 4y ago
  The “winning” goalie, for statistical purposes, is the one who was in net when the go-ahead goal was scored.
- antasvara 4y ago
  AFAIK, the winning goalie is the goalie that's in net when the "winning" goal was scored. So, if your team wins 4-1,the winning goalie is the goalie that was in when their team scored the second goal. The implication with Foster seems to be that he came in after this winning goal was scored. Ayres, on the other hand, must have had the winning goal scored while he was on the ice.
  - ascagnel_ 4y ago
    Pitching in baseball follows a similar rule: the pitcher that gives up the winning run is awarded the loss, the last pitcher to pitch for the winning team is awarded the win.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
  - banannaise 4y ago
    Yep. Ayres, amusingly, got the win because he allowed two goals after coming in with a 3-1 scoreline. (It was 4-1 by the time he allowed a goal.) Foster, holding a lead, never allowed a goal, and thus didn't become the goalie of record.
slyall 4y ago
In 1998 during a Cricket test match between India and New Zealand several New Zealand players got ill. NZ ended up playing two people from the media commentary team as substitutes. One was a recently-retired NZ player but the other was playing in his only International game.
0110101001 4y ago
Also interesting is the rule that allows (requires?) players to serve as referees. > If, through misadventure or sickness, the Referees and Linesmen appointed are prevented from appearing, the League will make every attempt to find suitable replacement officials, otherwise, the Managers or Coaches of the two Clubs shall agree on Referee(s) and Linesman(men). If they are unable to agree, they shall appoint a player from each side who shall act as Referee and Linesman; the player of the home Club acting as Referee and the player of the visiting Club as Linesman.
- CSMastermind 4y ago
  It's actually happened once before because a snowstorm delayed the officials from getting to the stadium. By all accounts the chosen players called a fair game.
paulcole 4y ago
Of the major professional sports in the US, hockey goalie feels like the only position where this could happen. You could do it for kicker/punter in the NFL, but even then there’s a player on the roster who’s serviceable and then you can alter game strategy to minimize the need for kicking/punting.
- ascagnel_ 4y ago
  It's also a little strange in that both positions are highly consequential, highly visible, and don't map cleanly to the other players in the game (kickers, at the NFL level, aren't taking regular snaps, goalies in the NHL can't even skate past the center line).
  - Infernal 4y ago
    Not so much can’t as may not, to be clear. Presumably they’re fine skaters.
    - deleted 4y ago
      [deleted]
- Brendinooo 4y ago
  If you stop 90 out of 100 shots, you’re a replacement-level goalie in the NHL. If you stop 94 out of 100, you’re one of the best of all time. So yeah, even if you can only stop 75 out of 100, that might get you through a period or two as the emergency backup.
  - bluedino 4y ago
    Hey, even Patrick Roy had a bad night and only stopped 10 out of 16 before.
- hhmc 4y ago
  Not a US sport (much), but this also applies to prop forwards in rugby union.
BrandonWatson 4y ago
I'm going to do all of you a favor - this is one of the greatest stories ever. EBUG from just 2 years ago. Here's the incident as it happened: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0JTRm-wf2E&ab_channel=SlickNHL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0JTRm-wf2E&ab_channel=Slick... The EBUG was the zamboni driver for the home team junior team. And also a practice goalie. He comes out in helmet, pads and breezers (pants) of the home team, and even skates to the wrong goal because...wrong team. And plays half the game. Then Steve Dangle melts down. He's on Sportsnet in Canada. He's a die hard Leafs (home team) fan. He's even written a book about how the Leafs have ruined his life. His video is epic. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFnQ0dcaBUI&ab_channel=SteveDangle https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFnQ0dcaBUI&ab_channel=Steve... I don't have time to look for it but David Ayers's wife (the EBUG) was on twitter and live tweeting the experience. It was nuts. Here's a 1 year later retrospective on Sportsnet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsjBr6rKEuU&ab_channel=SPORTSNET https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsjBr6rKEuU&ab_channel=SPORT...
- ckozlowski 4y ago
  Dangle is always like that. I'm pretty sure it's part of his schtick. But absolutely hilarious all the same. It was an epic night for hockey.
- kejaed 4y ago
  Thanks for posting. We watched the retrospective as a family with breakfast today.
ericcholis 4y ago
Such an amazing story when it happens. It always seems that every player on both teams offers up huge congratulations to the EBUG afterwards. The team that the EBUG plays for puts that player on a pedestal and treats them like a king; win or loose. The fans really get behind it too. Ryan Vinz filled the backup position for the Sabres, while the backup played. He didn't see any play time, but still had a special memory for it.
jeffrallen 4y ago
I kept waiting for the turn to "how this concept should be used in OT incident management" or somesuch and was instead "disappointed" to receive a joyful missive on unexpected dreams. Fun!
jollybean 4y ago
This is the best rule in all of sports we want to see this more often.
coffeeisyummy 4y ago
My favorite EBUG story - the GM of the Rangers forced to play goalie in the Stanley Cup final: https://nypost.com/video/rangers-gm-lester-patrick-plays-goalie-leads-rangers-to-win/ https://nypost.com/video/rangers-gm-lester-patrick-plays-goa...

226 points by noahbrier 4y ago

If anyone curious they don't get paid https://www.dkpittsburghsports.com/2020/10/05/nhl-emergency-backup-goaltender-ebug-rules-dave-ayres-tlh https://www.dkpittsburghsports.com/2020/10/05/nhl-emergency-...

yucky 4y ago
I would imagine most fans would pay good money for the opportunity to take the ice. No need for a game check.
soperj 4y ago
They mostly do it for the free tickets to games.

mindcrime 4y ago

It is one of the most interesting rules in sports, and does make for some incredible stories on the (rare) occasion when it is invoked. I first heard of this when Scott Foster played for the Blackhawks and thought it was one of the coolest things I'd ever heard of in my life at the time. And I still think this is one of the coolest things ever. Talk about memories that will last a lifetime. Wow.

noahbrier 4y ago
Definitely. The videos from the locker room are amazing. https://twitter.com/AnaheimDucks/status/1520238634539962368 https://twitter.com/AnaheimDucks/status/1520238634539962368
rrock 4y ago
He saved all seven shots against, if I recall. And one of them he stood on his head.
leeoniya 4y ago
also, random dude from audience plays drums for Foo Fighers https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Ll7lfZZjR4A https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Ll7lfZZjR4A
- tzs 4y ago
  I'd be careful with that link. I clicked a link to a similar video where Dave Grohl invited a kid from the audience to play guitar at a Foo Fighters concert. I watched it, and a couple other videos YouTube suggested involving audience members invited to play during pop or rock concerts. I had never heard of Dave Grohl before watching that video, and had never knowingly listened to Foo Fighters music. I had heard of them, and probably heard some of their songs in passing without knowing it, and that's all. Nevertheless Google apparently decided I was obsessed with Dave Grohl and for the next couple of months my Google News feed has several Dave Grohl stories per day. Very few of them had anything to do with music. They were almost always trashy celebrity gossip such as who Grohl was seen with or when he was drunk and that kind of thing. (And no, I don't normally follow any celebrity gossip--I only see celebrity gossip when a celebrity does something outrageous enough to make the national news, so this wasn't simply Google seeing that I liked gossip and adding Grohl to the mix). I wasn't clicking those stores, and after a couple weeks I started clicking the "fewer stories like this" option, but they still kept almost completely filling up the "For You" part of my Google News feed. I've never had that happen before or since with any other random link I've followed to a video. Just with Dave Grohl and the Foo Fighters.
  - leeoniya 4y ago
    > I'd be careful with that link. not really sure what this means in practice. should i always provide a disclaimer that Google ads will follow you for the next 6 months with every youtube link i post? i install uBlock Origin for everyone i know with a computer, and additionally uMatrix for myself, so have no idea what kind of landfill everyone else has to surf through. sorry, i guess?
Twirrim 4y ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tG-IGNvfrg8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tG-IGNvfrg8 Scott Foster appearance highlights

hirvi74 4y ago

I am a diehard NHL fan and a "beer league" goalie, and it would be my dream to be called up. However, I am acquainted with some individuals that are members of my favorite team's organization. My favorite team apparently has a roster of about 20 people that are "on call" for and given home game. Whether home or away, both teams in any given game can pull from the same roster i.e. the home team keeps the roster for both teams EBUG do not travel with the team or anything. Most of these people are ex-NCAA players or semi-professional players that have had far more success than your average beer leaguer.

debaserab2 4y ago
Cmon man, you’re ruining dreams here
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
teruakohatu 4y ago
> Whether home or away, both teams in any given game can pull from the same roster I am in New Zealand and know nothing about ice hockey, but wouldn't it be risky to accept your opponents recommendation? Wouldn't a fan of their own team be a better bet, even if a worse player?
- eli 4y ago
  If people got called up all the time that might be a problem. But it'd be impossible to justify the cost of flying extra players around, so the practice would simply end if that were a concern. I don't think many people with a once in a lifetime chance to play in a real NHL game are going to take a dive just so the home team wins.
  - boomboomsubban 4y ago
    > it'd be impossible to justify the cost of flying extra players around, I doubt traveling expense is the limiter, how many years of that would it take to reach even the NHL minimum salary? Teams would try to game the system if they were given more choice, and it'd lead to more decent goalies riding the bench rather than playing in smaller leagues.

_whiteCaps_ 4y ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Levesque https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Levesque almost made the list, but the Canucks backup goalie kept playing even though he had broken his wrist!

pvg 4y ago

Previous EBUG thread: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16716279 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16716279 NHL stunner: A 36-year-old accountant who has never played pro stars in Blackhawks win 2018, 85 comments

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]

enos_feedler 4y ago

The post-game interview with Scott Foster (one of the stand-ins referenced in the article) is pretty funny: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RB60iaSUIu0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RB60iaSUIu0 Best Quote: "I'm an accountant by day. So a few hours ago I was sitting at a computer typing on a 10 key. Now I'm standing before you guys after playing 14 minutes of NHL hockey". I'll never forget the shock of sitting down to catch sports highlights only to see this interview on TV. I went to high school with Scott Foster so it was a crazy shock.

OJFord 4y ago
That is brilliant, come on, surely the best is: > you just keep grinding away in men's league and eventually you'll get your shot ! I can't imagine having something like that happen and having the composure to give an interview like that in the same night.
- enos_feedler 4y ago
  Thats what impressed me too! He seemed very natural addressing the media.
- reg_dunlop 4y ago
  It was certainly said tongue in cheek, but I played in the same men's league that Scott Foster played in at Johnny's Ice House in Chicago and one of our players legitimately was called up to a professional team a week after playing a men's league game. Granted it was a low level professional team, and he was called up by a previous coach he had played for, but certainly was worth a couple chuckles.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
aix1 4y ago
I really enjoyed that interview, thanks for sharing! The guy is a legend.

gzer0 4y ago

If both uniformed goalies are removed, the EBUG, or Emergency Backup Goalie, takes over. An EBUG is a player provided by the host arena but available to either team. They're on a one-day contract, don't normally dress (get into gear), and usually just sit back and watch the game while eating a hot dog. It's typically a local rec league goalie/coach/staff member.

dbt00 4y ago
They sit in the press box unless a goalie gets hurt, then the equipment guys get the EBUG a jersey and he gets into his gear just in case he gets called in, but he has to stay in the locker room until or unless that happens.

eschneider 4y ago

Polo also allows drafting players from the stands (If someone goes out injured, you've got 15 minutes to find another player.) and I've seen it happen.

Mountain_Skies 4y ago
Auburn University's football team found itself at halftime without enough healthy tailbacks and had to use the stadium's PA system to page a true freshman from the upper deck stands into the locker room to dress out and play his first collegiate game. Not quite the same thing as recruiting a fan from the stands but still a surprise for him, watching the game with his family in street clothes, and the team to have to go to that length to get a replacement player. https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-1990-09-12-9002130697-story.html https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-1990-09-12-90021306...
- Infernal 4y ago
  Similarly, Brodus was napping at the frat house when he got the call during pre-game warmups to come suit up. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/derrick-brodus-tennessee-football-kicker-frat-house_n_1082194 https://www.huffpost.com/entry/derrick-brodus-tennessee-foot...
wbl 4y ago
The kind with the horses? Doesn't it take years to get good enough not to hurt the horse?

boomboomsubban 4y ago

Do they do the same thing for preseason games and it's just not in the rules? Or is there a third dressed goalie generally dressed?

rawling 4y ago

> In 2018, the accountant Scott Foster stopped all seven shots he faced to preserve a win for the Chicago Blackhawks. In 2020, the Zamboni driver David Ayres famously recorded the first-ever win for an EBUG as he denied his hometown Maple Leafs for half a game. If Foster won as EBUG in 2018, how can Ayres have had the first-ever EBUG win in 2020?

ohwaitnvm 4y ago
Maybe it's the first away-team win for an EBUG
patrickpkt 4y ago
The “winning” goalie, for statistical purposes, is the one who was in net when the go-ahead goal was scored.
antasvara 4y ago
AFAIK, the winning goalie is the goalie that's in net when the "winning" goal was scored. So, if your team wins 4-1,the winning goalie is the goalie that was in when their team scored the second goal. The implication with Foster seems to be that he came in after this winning goal was scored. Ayres, on the other hand, must have had the winning goal scored while he was on the ice.
- ascagnel_ 4y ago
  Pitching in baseball follows a similar rule: the pitcher that gives up the winning run is awarded the loss, the last pitcher to pitch for the winning team is awarded the win.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- banannaise 4y ago
  Yep. Ayres, amusingly, got the win because he allowed two goals after coming in with a 3-1 scoreline. (It was 4-1 by the time he allowed a goal.) Foster, holding a lead, never allowed a goal, and thus didn't become the goalie of record.

slyall 4y ago

In 1998 during a Cricket test match between India and New Zealand several New Zealand players got ill. NZ ended up playing two people from the media commentary team as substitutes. One was a recently-retired NZ player but the other was playing in his only International game.

0110101001 4y ago

Also interesting is the rule that allows (requires?) players to serve as referees. > If, through misadventure or sickness, the Referees and Linesmen appointed are prevented from appearing, the League will make every attempt to find suitable replacement officials, otherwise, the Managers or Coaches of the two Clubs shall agree on Referee(s) and Linesman(men). If they are unable to agree, they shall appoint a player from each side who shall act as Referee and Linesman; the player of the home Club acting as Referee and the player of the visiting Club as Linesman.

CSMastermind 4y ago
It's actually happened once before because a snowstorm delayed the officials from getting to the stadium. By all accounts the chosen players called a fair game.

paulcole 4y ago

Of the major professional sports in the US, hockey goalie feels like the only position where this could happen. You could do it for kicker/punter in the NFL, but even then there’s a player on the roster who’s serviceable and then you can alter game strategy to minimize the need for kicking/punting.

ascagnel_ 4y ago
It's also a little strange in that both positions are highly consequential, highly visible, and don't map cleanly to the other players in the game (kickers, at the NFL level, aren't taking regular snaps, goalies in the NHL can't even skate past the center line).
- Infernal 4y ago
  Not so much can’t as may not, to be clear. Presumably they’re fine skaters.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
Brendinooo 4y ago
If you stop 90 out of 100 shots, you’re a replacement-level goalie in the NHL. If you stop 94 out of 100, you’re one of the best of all time. So yeah, even if you can only stop 75 out of 100, that might get you through a period or two as the emergency backup.
- bluedino 4y ago
  Hey, even Patrick Roy had a bad night and only stopped 10 out of 16 before.
hhmc 4y ago
Not a US sport (much), but this also applies to prop forwards in rugby union.

BrandonWatson 4y ago

I'm going to do all of you a favor - this is one of the greatest stories ever. EBUG from just 2 years ago. Here's the incident as it happened: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0JTRm-wf2E&ab_channel=SlickNHL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0JTRm-wf2E&ab_channel=Slick... The EBUG was the zamboni driver for the home team junior team. And also a practice goalie. He comes out in helmet, pads and breezers (pants) of the home team, and even skates to the wrong goal because...wrong team. And plays half the game. Then Steve Dangle melts down. He's on Sportsnet in Canada. He's a die hard Leafs (home team) fan. He's even written a book about how the Leafs have ruined his life. His video is epic. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFnQ0dcaBUI&ab_channel=SteveDangle https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFnQ0dcaBUI&ab_channel=Steve... I don't have time to look for it but David Ayers's wife (the EBUG) was on twitter and live tweeting the experience. It was nuts. Here's a 1 year later retrospective on Sportsnet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsjBr6rKEuU&ab_channel=SPORTSNET https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsjBr6rKEuU&ab_channel=SPORT...

ckozlowski 4y ago
Dangle is always like that. I'm pretty sure it's part of his schtick. But absolutely hilarious all the same. It was an epic night for hockey.
kejaed 4y ago
Thanks for posting. We watched the retrospective as a family with breakfast today.

ericcholis 4y ago

Such an amazing story when it happens. It always seems that every player on both teams offers up huge congratulations to the EBUG afterwards. The team that the EBUG plays for puts that player on a pedestal and treats them like a king; win or loose. The fans really get behind it too. Ryan Vinz filled the backup position for the Sabres, while the backup played. He didn't see any play time, but still had a special memory for it.

jeffrallen 4y ago

I kept waiting for the turn to "how this concept should be used in OT incident management" or somesuch and was instead "disappointed" to receive a joyful missive on unexpected dreams. Fun!

jollybean 4y ago

This is the best rule in all of sports we want to see this more often.

coffeeisyummy 4y ago

My favorite EBUG story - the GM of the Rangers forced to play goalie in the Stanley Cup final: https://nypost.com/video/rangers-gm-lester-patrick-plays-goalie-leads-rangers-to-win/ https://nypost.com/video/rangers-gm-lester-patrick-plays-goa...