TOLEDO, Ohio — Despite the Game 1 loss to the Florida Everblades in the Kelly Cup finals, the fans were there to be heard.
"You play for all the marbles," Toledo Walleye fan Ron Stutesman said. "When you collect all the marbles, it's good."
Fans say the anticipation for this series was so much more than the last Kelly Cup Final appearance in 2019.
"Can't wait. We've been season ticket holders for about six seasons. I remember the excitement level when we did this in '19. I can't wait. Tomorrow's going to be even better," fan Stan St. Clair said before the game.
It's a fan base hoping for its first championship in franchise history and first pro hockey championship in Toledo since the Storm won it all in 1994.
"You have Rick Judson. You have Andy Suhy. You have Bruce MacDonald. They're all sitting back watching to see if we're going to do it again," fan Jen Sweet said. "Then you have the Goaldiggers that go even farther back. This is a Toledo tradition for a million years, it seems like."
Fans say shouldn't be a surprise that Toledoans show up in full force for their team.
"It's always been a hockey town. This goes clear back to the [Toledo] Blades clear up through the Storm, the Walleye. It's always been a hockey town," Stutesman said.
Fans are ready to win back the cup they had to wait three years and a pandemic to avenge.
"After the loss last time, this one's ours. We got this, this one is for sure. It's coming home," St. Clair said.
The Walleye return to the Huntington Center for Game 2 in the series, which they'll look to even 1-1. Puck drop is slated for 7:35 p.m.