Merrimack College Hockey Player Doubles as Zamboni Driver Mid-Game

This is such a New England hockey guy.

A clip is going viral after a player on the ACHA hockey team at Merrimack College was seen driving the Zamboni mid-game.

This might not be that funny or interesting if the player wasn't playing, but he was. With not much time between periods, the Merrimack College player (doubling as Zamboni driver) was cleaning the ice with all of his gear on, from shoulder pads to skates.

This is epic, and hilarious, which is why it has gained so much attention, even from the biggest hockey podcast in the world.

There are only a handful of explanations for why this player had to clean the ice mid-game.

Okay, there is really only one explanation: the Zamboni driver who normally does it was not there.

But honestly, good for this player. He must have had SOME type of experience with the Zamboni, because that's a big machine to operate for the first time. And based on the video, it looks like he knows what he is doing.

Here is the original clip from 'JoeSpud_' on X.

This reminds me so much of when a Zamboni driver was called into an NHL game to play goalie as a last resort.

David Ayers was the third-string emergency goalie for the Carolina Hurricanes. According to a U.S Sun article:

From 2014-15, Ayres served as a backup to the Toronto Maple Leafs and Carolina Hurricanes minor league teams.

He had never played in the NHL and worked as a Zamboni driver at Ricoh Coliseum in Toronto.

The arena was the home arena for the Toronto Marlies, the American Hockey League farm team of the Maple Leafs.

With his Toronto Maple Leafs gear, David Ayers made his NHL debut playing for the opposing team, the Carolina Hurricanes.

After letting in two goals on the first two shots, Ayers made some big stops and earned himself and the team a 6-3 win.