A Little EBUG History

If there's one thing that happens more regularly in minor-professional hockey than what we see in the NHL, it's the signing of EBUGs - Emergency Back-Up Goaltenders - so that teams can ice a roster with the correct number of players. It happens more frequently as one goes lower down the ladder, and the ECHL sees it happen quite a bit depending on the needs of their NHL and AHL affiliates. As a result, EBUG signings don't get mentioned in news reports often for that league thanks to teams moving players up and down their depth charts. Tonight, however, the Norfolk Admirals got to add their name to the history books thanks to a non-affiliated team.

Earlier today, the Carolina Hurricanes, who don't have an AHL or ECHL affiliate, recalled Yanev Perets from Norfolk. Perets has been bouncing between the NHL and ECHL all season long, and the Admirals, who are affiliated with the Winnipeg Jets, have been allowing Perets to stop pucks for them alongside highly-touted Jets prospect Thomas Milic. Normally, this wouldn't be much of an issue if Norfolk was playing at home, but they were on the road in Worcester, Massachusetts to play the Railers. Obviously, being on the road meant that they'd need to locate a goalie to cover for Perets.

The man in the middle of the image above is Thomas Milic, and he got the start against Worcester tonight. Norfolk went with one of the rostered netminders to face the Railers, so Perets being recalled by Carolina gave Winnipeg prospect Thomas Milic the start. Again, that left an open seat on the bench that needed to be filled, and this is where the history was made.

The Norfolk Admirals made some calls, and they had the woman on the above right fill in as the EBUG this evening as Mariah Fujimagari - who tried out for Kalamazoo this past fall and helping them win a preseason game - donned jersey #30 and served as the back-up netminder to Milic as captured by Darryl Hunt (@210Darryl)!

Obviously, Fujimagari already made history by helping Kalamazoo win 4-3 in overtime on October 14, 2023 in the preseason, and she followed Erin Whitten who, on October 30, 1993, became the first female hockey player to win a professional game as a goaltender when the Toledo Storm defeated the Dayton Bombers 6-5 on that day in 1993. However, Fujimagari will now hold the distinction as being the first female EBUG in North American professional hockey history with her appearance on the Norfolk bench tonight! How cool is that?

What made tonight's game almost bigger was a moment in the second period when Thomas Milic took a shot off the mask which looked like it initially injured him. With the starter potentially coming out, EBUG Mariah Fujimagari began getting her gear ready! The good news is that Milic was just a little stunned by the shot, shaking it off, which also meant that it was bad news for Fujimagari as she sat back down at the end of the bench. We almost had an EBUG appearance from a goalie who had played professional women's hockey!

The final score saw Worcester defeat Norfolk 4-3 in overtime on a game-winner by Blade Jenkins, but the coolest part of this game was seeing Mariah Fujimagari almost take the crease for the Admirals! While she didn't get any hockey action on this day, it doesn't mean she won't see any in the future as she's been on the Railers' EBUG list all season long. Perhaps there will be another team needing a goalie coming through Worcester in the near future? We can only hope!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!