OGDEN, Utah — Sept. 11 was the motivation for a man who had just left the Marines to move back to Utah to join the Air Force Reserve at Hill Air Force Base. And over the last two decades, his love for hockey also helped him establish a much-needed shop for players in Weber County.
Following his service as a United States Marine, and then as a firefighter at the base, Cory Lingelbach always carried his passion for the game of hockey. A few years ago, he decided to combine that with growing the sport in Utah.
In fact, Lingelbach likely would never have ended up in a recent Park City hockey tournament if not for 9/11.
His story began in Pennsylvania with the Pittsburgh Junior Penguins.
“I could fight," he said. "So when I made the team, because I could fight, it was like the next day I had an epiphany as I drove past the Marine Corps recruiting station and saw that sign. I was like, I need to do this instead."
On the 25th anniversary of 9/11, Utahns reflect on sacrifice, unity, and the cost of freedom:
After Cory put in four years of active duty, he was working for the family construction businesses in Pennsylvania. Then came 9/11.
“So I got a call from my Marines that are out here in Utah and offered me the job up at Hill Air Force Base," he shared. "To get back into firefighting, and obviously everybody and their mother wanted to be a firefighter then."
But in Utah, he found hockey was hard to come by. Cory eventually took matters into his own hands, operating his own blade-sharpening business out of an old trailer.
“We would just bounce around from location to location and just kind of giving people something so they didn't have to drive an hour and a half," he said.
It evolved into him opening and running Hockey Stopz hockey shop in Ogden, along with former customer and hockey player Dan Robin, who eventually became a partner.
“Who would have thought this dude, who was a Marine, Air Force reserve firefighter on base, then created all of this, and started it out of a gutted camp trailer,” said Robin.
The shop focuses on keeping prices competitive and providing customer service, especially when it comes to skate sharpening.
“We hand sharpen, profile, contour, all the good stuff about what really makes that player get to the next level," he explained.
Robin said those players keep coming.
“And then having all the veteran players come in and active-duty military, it's been pretty awesome," Robin said. "Seeing their kids come in to play and some of them, we've been sharpening their skates since they were this big and now they're playing junior hockey somewhere or college."
The duo has also helped establish this weekend's “9/11 Never Forget” hockey tournament in Park City, something Lingelbach hopes will become an annual event.
“It's amazing to see the growth," Lingelbach said, "and then to actually be a little part of it."
It’s another unexpected and fulfilling path for Cory, put in motion by that unimaginable day 25 years ago.
“If 9/11 wouldn't have happened, I don't know if I would've come back," he said.
The tournament continues with games Friday night and Sunday at the Black Rock Mountain ice sheet in Park City. Admission is free, and donations are welcome.
