Tribute to Rufenach was classy

10/21/2012

On Oct. 13, the Toledo Walleye paid tribute to former teammate Bryan Rufenach who was killed in an accident during the offseason.

The sold-out crowd watched as the current Walleye players skated over to shake the hands of their teammate’s family. Kyle Page, a player recently traded from Toledo to the visiting Kalamazoo Wings, watched eagerly from the bench and as the last of Walleye players passed through the line to pay their respects, he jumped off the Wings’ bench and onto the ice to pay his respects to his former teammate’s family. The rest of the Kalamazoo Wings soon followed as the crowd rose to a standing ovation.

This just goes to show the class of the Walleye organization. As I looked around the rink there were as many tears as there were smiles.

What a great show of sportsmanship by both teams and a great way to kick off the 2012 Walleye season.

GREG HARLEY

Curtice