Toledo Hockey Hall of Fame Committee announces 2019 class

Five Toledo hockey greats - Mike Eruzione, Chris McSorley, Greg Puhalski, Maurice Benoit, and John McGrath - will be inducted into the Toledo Hockey Hall of Fame during the historic 2019 CCM/ECHL All-Star Weekend, presented by ProMedica.

This is the first time that Toledo has hosted CCM/All-Star Weekend at the Huntington Center and throughout Hensville. The event runs from Friday, January 18 through Monday, January 21, 2019 with the Toledo Hockey and ECHL Hall of Fame luncheon presented by Cooper Tires taking place on Sunday, January 20.

MIKE ERUZIONE - TOLEDO GOALDIGGERS

The left winger from Winthrop, Massachusetts played four seasons at Boston University from 1973-77, and was drafted by the New England Whalers in the second round of the 1974 World Hockey Association Amateur Draft before coming to Toledo.

Eruzione played two seasons with the Toledo Goaldiggers from 1977-79, and was part of the 1978 International Hockey League Turner Cup championship team. He was awarded the IHL’s Ken McKenzie Trophy in 1978 as the outstanding American-born rookie.

With the Goaldiggers, he played in 150 regular season games, scoring 57 goals with 101 assists. In 20 playoff games with Toledo, he scored 9 goals with 15 assists.

Eruzione then joined the U.S. Olympic team in 1979, and was captain of the 1980 Olympic Gold Medal squad. He’s best known for scoring the famous game-winning goal against the Soviet Union in the medal round of the Olympics.

Eruzione will be in attendance for the induction.

CHRIS MCSORLEY - TOLEDO GOALDIGGERS, STORM

The Hamilton, Ontario native played with the Dundas-Hamilton Tigers of the Ontario Hockey Association during the 1983-84 season before coming to Toledo.

McSorley played two seasons with the Toledo Goaldiggers from 1984-86, scoring 40 goals with 40 assists and recording 798 penalty minutes in 117 regular season games. His 545 penalty minutes during the 1985-86 season remains an all-time high in Toledo hockey history and ranks as one of the highest totals in the history of the International Hockey League.

McSorley was head coach of Winston-Salem (1989-90) and Richmond (1990-91) of the ECHL before he returned to Toledo, becoming the first head coach of the Toledo Storm. He coached three seasons in Toledo (1991-94), winning the Brabham Cup in 1992 and back-to-back Riley Cup championships in 1993 and 94.

McSorley went on to coach the Las Vegas Thunder in the IHL. He has spent more than a decade with Geneve Servette of the Swiss-A League, where he serves as general manager and coach.

McSorley will be in attendance for the induction.

GREG PUHALSKI – TOLEDO STORM

The center from Fort William, Ontario played four seasons at Wilfrid Laurier University of the Ontario University Athletic Association and for Ohio University’s club program before coming to Toledo.

Puhalski played three seasons with the Toledo Storm from 1991-94, also serving as assistant coach during the 1993-94 season. He helped Toledo win back-to-back ECHL Riley Cup titles in 1993 and 1994.

Fourth on all-time Storm scoring list, Puhalski scored 70 goals with 155 assists in 123 regular season games. In 35 playoff games, he scored 20 goals with 33 assists. Puhlaski then became Storm head coach for four seasons from 1994-98, leading Toledo to four straight playoff appearances.

Puhalski went on to coach nine seasons in the United Hockey League with Port Huron, Fort Wayne and Chicago, as well as three seasons as head coach of Wheeling in the ECHL. For the past eight seasons, he has served as head coach of his alma mater, Wilfrid Laurier.

MAURICE “MOE” BENOIT – TOLEDO BLADES

Voted the greatest defenseman in the history of the International Hockey League, Benoit joined the Toledo Blades as player-coach during the 1963-64 season and guided the team to an IHL Turner Cup championship. He served as player-coach the following season, and then was a player only with the Blades during the 1965-66 season.

With the Blades, he played in 187 regular season games, scoring 42 goals with 108 assists. In 17 playoff games with Toledo, Benoit scored 4 goals with 6 assists.

Benoit went on to play with the Dayton Gems from 1966-70, as was part of Dayton’s Turner Cup championship team in 1969.

Before coming to Toledo, the defenseman from Valleyfield, Quebec was a member of the Canadian Olympic Hockey Team, which won the silver medal in the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley, California.

JOHN MCGRATH – TOLEDO MERCURYS, BUCKEYES

The defenseman from Hibbing, Minnesota played with the Hibbing Saints of the Northern Hockey League, a senior amateur hockey league, during the 1946-47 season before coming to Toledo.

McGrath played five seasons with the Toledo Mercurys (1947-49, 1950-53), and was a member of International Hockey League Turner Cup championship teams in 1948, 1951 and 1952. He was awarded the IHL’s James Gatschene Memorial Trophy in 1951 as the league’s most valuable player. He also served as captain of the Mercurys.

In 239 regular season games with the Mercurys, the forward who also played defense scored 97 goals with 116 assists. In 41 playoff games with the Mercurys, he scored 16 goals with 14 assists.

McGrath also played with the Toledo Buckeyes of the Eastern Hockey League during the 1949-50 season, scoring 13 goals with 16 assists in 37 games.

The Toledo Hockey Hall of Fame was created to honor those individuals who have excelled as athletes, as coaches, and those individuals or staff members who have been fervent supporters helping to shape Toledo’s hockey heritage.

The nomination and subsequent selection of candidates was determined by the Toledo Hockey Hall of Fame committee, made up of former coaches, players, team historians, and media, with input from Toledo hockey fans during the voting phase.

For a complete schedule of the 2019 CCM/All-Star Weekend events go to ToledoWalleye.com/AllStar. Single-game ticket packages are on sale now at the Huntington Center box office or online. Hall of Fame luncheon tickets are currently available only to Walleye Game Plan Holders. Luncheon tickets for the public will go on sale at a later date.