The Tucson Roadrunners were in emergency mode, at least where a backup goaltender was concerned. After seeing a number of players go to the NHL Coyotes and other teams, the Roadrunners had only one goalie in Tucson for an AHL game a few weeks ago. They needed a fill-in.
It’s called an “emergency goaltender” — a guy who dresses, sits on the bench, and plays only if the starter is injured and can’t continue.
I immediately thought of Eric Holton, a Tucson goaltending icon who has been there and done that, decades ago, right there at the TCC. He’s also a Roadrunners season-ticket holder and sits just a few feet away from the bench.
Holton played juniors in Phoenix after graduating from Sahuaro High, then in 1995 joined the previous incarnation of the UA club hockey team, then called the Icecats.
“They were unbeatable then,” Holton, now 42, remembers. “For a player to get on that team was like a holy grail in Arizona. They were the hockey team in Arizona.”
Many Tucsonans today tilt their heads and doubt the grand memories of the Icecats, as if they were an imagined fairy tale. I was there, like Holton, and I saw it, too. The crowds were huge. The atmosphere was electric. The Icecats were like Tucson rock stars — and the games were one of the most popular sports attractions in Southern Arizona.
Holton saw the college hockey promised land from the goal crease at the TCC for two seasons, then in 1997, a curious hockey newcomer snuck into town: the minor league West Coast Hockey League Tucson Gila Monsters.
Holton showed up for their tryouts and earned a place on their “will call” list for future possible use. His big pro hockey break arrived when one of the Gila Monsters goalies saw a whopping 17-game suspension for an on-ice altercation. The team suddenly needed an emergency goaltender.
Holton thought the initial phone call from the Gila Monsters was a joke, but he showed up at the TCC, got dressed, practiced with the pro team, and then took his place on the bench. He didn’t play a minute in the WCHL — remember, emergency goalies only see the ice if the starter can’t play.
Then the situation got really strange. For one game, Holton was the backup on the Tucson bench at the TCC. The next game, he was the backup on the opposing Bakersfield Fog bench — the visitors had their own emergency goalie situation, and they penciled Holton in on their roster.
“I had to go find their coach, Keith Gretzky, Wayne’s brother, and tell him, ‘I guess I’m your goalie tonight.’ Gretzky said, ‘OK, let’s find you a jersey,’” Holton chuckled.
That game on the bench earned Holton another big $25, and as he got out of his goalie pads and saw the Fog’s bus loading up, it dawned on him: Should he run to get on the bus back to Bakersfield, or was he still a Gila Monster? Was he a pro hockey player at all?
Holton instead stayed in Tucson and graduated from the UA. He played in various fantasy camps and never lost his love for goaltending. A few years ago, he started playing for one team in Tucson’s adult league, and also as a fill-in goaltender when needed by other teams. That sounds familiar, right?
He also retained his sense of humor about hockey. Goaltenders are notorious for their eccentric, unique personalities — one of the many reasons why I revere hockey netminders. Goalies who can laugh at themselves, and the game they love, are especially refreshing.
Holton understands this and promotes a whimsical persona that strikes a nerve with goaltenders all over the globe.
Eric Holton is the self-proclaimed “World’s Okayest Goalie.”
He exhibits that title on T-shirts and jerseys, and sells them to goaltenders at every level, from kids to pros. Holton does not reserve the moniker only for himself — he shares it with netminders who play the position simply because they love it.
Holton and his goalie friends see themselves as guys with pads who love to play hockey. They can let in lots of goals. They can also make some great saves. They are OK with that.
Oh, the Roadrunners did not call on Eric Holton that one night in need. They used another amateur, from Phoenix, who a couple years ago filled in as an emergency goalie for the NHL Coyotes.
The competition to not play a minute in the pros is a lot more crowded than I thought.
