As some of y’all might already know based on comments I have made every now and again on broadcasts or from getting to know me in person, I am a loud and proud Carolina Hurricanes fan. Tripp Tracy of Fox Sports Carolinas fame would more than likely describe me as a “huge caniac.”
Of all the sports teams I love, whether it be the Carolina Panthers, the New York Yankees, or even the Charlotte Hornets. None have put me on quite the rollercoaster the Hurricanes have. For better or for worse, I know what every season is going to be like for my other three teams. The Yankees are always good, the Panthers are consistently mediocre, and the Hornets are just bad. For the Canes, that has never quite been the case.
Now, I didn’t become a real Hurricanes fan until probably around 5 or 6 years ago, a much shorter amount of time than I have been a fan of my other teams. With that being said, I’ve been through more of an emotional roller coaster in that short amount of time watching the Hurricanes than any of my other teams combined. The opposite ends of that spectrum can be seen quite easily in just two of the many games I have attended at PNC Arena in Raleigh.
First, we have the low point. November 14, 2015, the Hurricanes are playing host to the Philadelphia Flyers. Carolina jumped out to 2-0 lead, before promptly blowing it and allowing the game to get to overtime. After Philly’s Jakub Voracek netted home the winner in overtime for the visitors, I promptly started exiting the arena, only to boot into a trash can. That was just the start of a very unpleasant trip home, but I think you guys get the point of it and could do without more details.
So if that’s the low, what’s the high? Well, that took place on April 15, 2019. Canes, Caps, Game 3 of the first round in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The first Canes playoff game at home in 10 years. I maintain that that is the loudest building I have ever set foot in, and I have been to a Carolina-Duke game at the Dean Dome. My years as a fan had finally been rewarded with the game of a lifetime, watching the Canes blow out their archrival in the playoffs.
But of all these highs and lows I just described, not a single moment in Hurricanes history has made me more proud to be a fan. With James Reimer leaving the game last Saturday evening in Toronto, Petr Mrazek had to come in and play his second game in as many days. Mrazek was putting on a show in the crease, only allowing 1 goal on the night, and helping the Canes out to a 3-1 lead about halfway through the second period.
All of a sudden, a collision with Maple Leafs forward Kyle Clifford knocked Petr out of the hockey game, forcing emergency back up goalie Dave Ayres into action.
To be quite honest with you, I had absolutely zero faith in Dave when he came into the game, I thought there was no way in the world that the 42-year-old Zamboni driver of the Maple Leafs AHL affiliate Toronto Marlies would get it done in an NHL game. And after the Canes extended the lead from 3-1 to 4-1 right after Ayres entered the game, a man who last played competitive hockey in a league called Allan Cup Hockey in 2014 (where his numbers were atrocious, mind you) had a 3 goal lead to protect with about 30 minutes remaining in an NHL hockey game.
Now, my lack of faith in Ayres seemed to be validated at first, as our favorite Zamboni driver gave up 2 goals on his first 3 shots faced, as the Leafs cut the Canes lead down to just 4-3 at the second intermission.
Thankfully, everything turned around for Ayres after he got a word of advice from Hurricanes center Erik Haula in the dressing room. “Just have fun. We don’t care if you let 10 goals in.” Those were all the words Dave needed to settle down and save 7 out of 7 shots faced in the third period, propelling the visitors to a 6-3 victory in one of the most hostile venues in hockey. Earning the nickname from some folks on twitter of “Big Save Dave.”
Now, Ayres gets to come down to Raleigh on Tuesday and sound the pregame warning siren as his teammates from last Saturday take the ice, has a shirt with his name on it being sold by the team online, and is doing interviews left and right throughout the coming days.
It truly was a fairy tale for Dave Ayres in Toronto on Saturday, with his name now permanently etched into the NHL history books, and the memories of hockey fans around the world. For showing me a story better than Hollywood could possibly come up with and reminding me and many others why we love sports, I will never forget you Big Save Dave. As Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’amour inscribed on the wine bottle he gifted you postgame, “Thanks for the memory!”