A video of young goalie Zach Dietz running with his goalie gear toward the CTC Arena has gone viral.
Ottawa Senators emergency backup goalie Zach Dietz became a real-life hockey folk hero on Saturday night. With backup Anton Forsberg injured during warmups, the Senators found themselves in a spot of bother and summoned Dietz, who currently plays for the University of Ottawa in USports, before their game against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
A video posted on X by user @muggers_hockey captured what appears to be Dietz running alongside the road with his full heavy goalie gear and sprinting toward the CTC Arena on a busy road. The clip was reportedly shot from a car stuck in traffic near the arena.
While it hasn’t been officially confirmed if the man in the video was Dietz, all the details seem to line up. Sportsnet later showed a clip of Dietz entering the locker room, wearing the exact same outfit and carrying the same bag seen in the viral footage.
According to reports, the 22-year-old was attending the game as a fan with his girlfriend, wearing a signed Josh Norris jersey. But when Forsberg went down, the Senators had to call on their spare goalie who had to leave the game to get his hockey equipment and come back.
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Unfortunately, Dietz’s heroic dash didn’t result in ice time. Starter Linus Ullmark stepped up for the second straight night and delivered a solid 25-save performance as the Senators edged out the Penguins in overtime.
Captain Brady Tkachuk scored the winning goal with just 1:46 into the extra frame to lift the Senators to a 3-2 win. Thomas Chabot had a goal and an assist, and Drake Batherson also found the back of the net to help Ottawa notch its first three-game winning streak of the season.
Up next, they will hit the road for a long nine-game trip, starting in Seattle.
Image Credit: James Guillory-Imagn Images/X
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