TOLEDO, Ohio — The Toledo Hockey Hall of Fame welcomed its five newest inductees on Friday night at a ceremony in downtown Toledo.
Jeff Lerg, Iain Duncan, Alex Hicks, Claude Noel, and Barney O'Connell, representing teams from Toledo’s pro-hockey history going back decades, were inducted.
At the same time, members of 1990s Toledo Storm championship teams were honored over the weekend.
The Toledo Walleye, the city's current minor league franchise, are paying tribute to the Toledo Storm, who won back-to-back Riley Cup titles in 1993 and 1994 under the leadership of former Toledo Goaldigger and Storm head coach Chris McSorley.
The induction ceremony took place Friday at the Imagination Station, where former Toledo hockey greats gathered for a social hour before the ceremony.
This year is the 30th anniversary of the Storm winning their first of two championships.
They were a close-knit group of players that accomplished so much on the ice and have stayed close over the years.
“These guys played the game so hard. They played hard off the ice. They played hard on the ice. But they won two titles and honestly putting these guys together and seeing how they are here today – I’m very honored,” said McSorley, who was a 2019 inductee into the hall of fame.
Toledo Storm player Rick Judson, who was one of the first class of Toledo Hockey Hall of Fame inductees in 2016, made his first public appearance since being badly injured in a car crash in October.
Judson, who played 10 years for the Storm, fondly remembered the championship teams.
"This is probably the closest team I've ever been a part of. We were always together. We always had each other's backs. It was just fun to be around each other and I think that goes a long way when you have a championship team," said Judson.
On Saturday afternoon, guests at the Glass City Metropark in east Toledo got to skate with some of the former players who are in town.
Dozens of fans took to the ice to skate with some of their favorite former players.
One of those players, 2017 hall of fame inductee Mark Deazeley, scored a winning goal in the 1993 Riley Cup championship.
He says he's been feeling the love all weekend.
"Some of our fans that knew us back in the day and were big supporters have come out and I've signed some autographs today,” said Deazeley. "Being honored is going to be a special moment. But first and foremost, I'm a hockey person, and I'm just looking forward to the game."
The former Storm players were honored before Saturday’s Walleye game.
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