Senators EBUG Dietz on viral moment: 'It's been a lot of fun'
Published
Zach Dietz has tried to stay calm amidst the fanfare since his viral moment on Saturday.
The Ottawa Gee-Gees goaltender, who was called to dress for the Ottawa Senators before their game against the Pittsburgh Penguins as an emergency backup goalie (EBUG), was caught on video by @muggers_hockey on X (formerly Twitter) running towards the arena on the highway before the game.
"It's been pretty different, but it's been a lot of fun. I've been able to enjoy it with friends and family," Dietz said on TSN1200 on Monday.
When Anton Forsberg was injured during warm-ups, forcing Linus Ullmark into action, the Senators had to enlist Dietz as the EBUG. The 22-year-old said he was close to the stadium, but traffic may cause some issues getting there in time.
"We were at my girlfriend's uncle's and aunt's place. We were getting ready to leave, but I see my phone start to blow up around 5:50 and I was telling my girlfriend "we gotta go cause I think they want me to get dressed,"" Dietz said.
"I had a few phone calls from my goalie partners and then the goalie coach, Justin Peters, with the Ottawa Senators, but that's when I realized we're going to have to rush to get to the game because you never know with Ottawa traffic."
As it turned out, the traffic was a major issue.
"[My girlfriend and I] were sitting in the car about a kilometre away from the rink, fully stopped, we had been sitting in it for about 10 minutes," Dietz said. "We were contemplating what would be the best thing to do, and I thought "you know what, I think I can get out and run, and I think I can get there sooner than you can." We sat on it for about a minute, and I was ready to jump on it, she was ready to jump into the driver's seat, so we put the car in park, I grabbed my gear and just started running."
Dietz took off running in the opposing lane, which was empty, and that's when the video took place. He arrived at the rink about 20 minutes ahead of his girlfriend thanks to the help of a couple who were also headed to the game that picked him up and drove him the remaining couple hundred meters.
"I realized [the entire thing] real when I entered the building - still out of breath - and turned the corner and there was 15 or 20 cameras sitting there and I thought "oh, goodness, this is a big deal," Dietz said.
The Gee-Gees goalie had already planned to go to the game with his girlfriend, and showed up to the rink wearing a signed Josh Norris jersey that was provided by a friend, leading to more viral moments.
"Once I got the call I wasn't going to change or anything like that so it looked funny with me running in wearing a jersey like that like I was just pulled out of the stands as a fan just to come down and get dressed for the Sens," Dietz said.
As it turned out, Ullmark stopped 25 of 27 shots in an uneventful night to lead the Senators to a 3-2 overtime victory. But Dietz said he's still expecting to get a keepsake for the entire experience.
"I'm pretty sure I'll end up getting the jersey, the team kept the jersey just in case this situation were to arise again over the rest of the season, but at the end of the year they said I'll be able to keep the jersey with my last name stitched on it."