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Jorge Alves has been around the Carolina Hurricanes in various capacities for thirteen years, but tonight he gets a chance to serve a role that most scratch college club hockey players would give about anything to have: backup NHL goaltender.
The Canes announced this afternoon that Eddie Lack is under the weather, and with the Checkers in Manitoba and the Florida Everblades in Charleston, S.C., tonight, the team went with the path of least resistance: signing Alves to a professional tryout contract and giving him backup duty tonight. Alves has served as a practice goalie over the years, giving Canes goalies days off from time to time, but has never been on the bench in uniform until tonight.
While this is a rare move, it does happen from time to time, most notably a few years ago when Capitals video coach Brett Leonhardt suited up in similar circumstances against the Montreal Canadiens.
The team placed Justin Faulk on injured reserve to open a roster spot for Alves, but his status is unchanged and his placement on IR is a paperwork move to allow Alves to fill in tonight.
The release from the team is below.
HURRICANES SIGN ALVES TO PROFESSIONAL TRYOUT
Team’s equipment manager to serve as backup goaltender; Faulk to IR
Ron Francis, Executive Vice President and General Manager of the National Hockey League’s Carolina Hurricanes, today announced that the team has signed its equipment manager Jorge Alves (GEORGE AHLVS) to a professional tryout contract. Alves will serve as Carolina’s backup goaltender tonight at Tampa Bay due to goaltender Eddie Lack not feeling well this afternoon. The team also announced that defenseman Justin Faulk has been placed on injured reserve.
Alves, 37, has been one of Carolina’s full-time equipment managers since the 2012-13 season, and practices with the team on a regular basis. The Stoughton, MA, native played with North Carolina State University’s club hockey team for the 2002-03 and 2003-04 seasons, followed by several short stints in the ECHL and Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL). Alves moved to Raleigh in 2001 following four years of in the Marine Corps at Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, NC, and has worked with Carolina’s equipment staff since the 2003-04 season. He lives in Knightdale, NC, with his wife Amanda and their two children, Madison and Jaxon.