David Nozzolillo, a 45-year-old bank executive, went from eating lunch at Hooters to dressing as an emergency backup goalie for the Chicago Blackhawks last Friday. The accountant had what most hockey fans can only dream about – a regular work day that turned into a once-in-a-lifetime sports moment.
Nozzolillo is one of the team’s four emergency backup goalies, or EBUGs. For the past four years, this has been a side job where he works as an independent contractor and gets paid $100 to show up at the United Center and watch the game. Last Friday was different.
According to ESPN, His day started normally at Wintrust Bank in Orland Park. Since it was a cold winter Friday, he and his coworkers went to the Hooters in the parking lot next door. “I got the naked wings without any sauce or breading,” he said, adding that he did sneak in some fries. He called it “the pregame meal of champions.”
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Sometimes a routine Friday lunch becomes your ticket to the NHL
Nozzolillo finished his workday from home and wrapped up a client call around 5:00 PM. He had missed a message from Danny Tranchida, his hockey operations contact with the team. Tranchida called again with shocking news. “Hey, Spencer Knight has the flu too,” Tranchida said. “So Knight and [Arvid] Soderblom will not be in the building tonight. We need you to get there early. You’re going to dress.”
The pressure was suddenly on. Nozzolillo usually plays in Chicago-area beer leagues, including the over-40 elites, because “Everyone needs goalies.” He’s a former D-III goalie from Lake Forest College, though he admitted he “rode the pine there” and quit junior year after the team brought in two 21-year-old freshmen. While his NHL moment was unexpected, it’s still not quite as stunning as Tucker’s massive Dodgers contract deal.
He had thrown his hockey gear into the washing machine earlier that day and forgot to move it to the dryer. His clothes were soaking wet. He quickly tossed his pads into the dryer before starting his 30-minute drive to the arena. Halfway there, he got a text confirming the spelling of his last name for a jersey. “As soon as I got that I was like ‘Oh s—.’ It’s happening,” Nozzolillo said.
The locker room scene was a complete whirlwind. “I’ve got people swarming me,” he said. “The equipment manager saying, ‘Hey, do you need socks? Do you need this? Can I sharpen your skates? Do you need some water?'” Camera crews were filming, and professional players came up to introduce themselves. He was totally overwhelmed, thinking, “What is going on in here?”
Before getting ready, he had to sign a one-day amateur tryout contract that paid $0. While quickly looking over the document, he noticed errors. He corrected his birthdate and changed where it said he caught left to right. He also saw his name was listed as “Dave” instead of “David” but let that slide to avoid being “too anal.”
He now regrets that decision. Meanwhile, in other sports news, Derek Carr’s controversial Raiders draft opinion has been making waves. “I wish I had changed it,” he said, explaining he hadn’t thought the contract would be registered with the league, leading to massive media attention. “I was just trying to stay in the moment,” he said.
Published: Jan 17, 2026 11:45 am