OGDEN, Utah — The devastating events of Sept. 11 served as a powerful motivation for Cory Lingelbach, a former Marine and Air Force Reserve firefighter at Hill Air Force Base, to return to Utah and ultimately establish a key resource for local hockey players in Weber County.
Lingelbach's journey, which combined his passion for hockey with a commitment to service, led to the creation of Hockey Stopz in Ogden. Along with partner Dan Robin, Lingelbach has filled a crucial need for the local hockey community. This weekend, the duo has also helped organize the inaugural "9/11 Never Forget" hockey tournament in Park City, an event Lingelbach hopes will become an annual tradition.
Hockey Stopz provides essential services for players, including expert skate sharpening, profiling, and contouring. The shop focuses on competitive pricing and dedicated customer service, directly addressing a gap Lingelbach observed in the region. He noted that without such a local resource, players often had to drive significant distances, stating that his aim was to offer an alternative so people did not "have to drive an hour and a half."
Lingelbach's path to entrepreneurship and community involvement began in Pennsylvania, where he played for the Pittsburgh Junior Penguins. He recounted a pivotal moment when he decided to join the United States Marine Corps, driven by an "epiphany" upon seeing a recruiting station sign. He served four years of active duty before working in his family's construction businesses.
The Sept. 11 attacks fundamentally altered his trajectory. After the attacks, Lingelbach received a call from his Marine contacts in Utah, offering him a firefighting position at Hill Air Force Base. This opportunity prompted his return to Utah, a move he indicated might not have happened without the national tragedy. He shared that, in that period, many sought to become firefighters.
Once settled in Utah, Lingelbach found that hockey services were hard to come by. To address this, he initially took matters into his own hands, operating a blade-sharpening business out of an old trailer. This mobile service bounced "from location to location," as Lingelbach described, providing local players with a convenient option they previously lacked. This grassroots effort eventually evolved into the establishment of Hockey Stopz in Ogden.
Dan Robin, a former customer and fellow hockey player, eventually became Lingelbach's partner at Hockey Stopz. Robin expressed admiration for Lingelbach's unusual journey, remarking on how a Marine and Air Force reserve firefighter on base created the shop, starting it from a gutted camp trailer. The shop has become a hub for the local hockey scene, with Robin noting the satisfaction of seeing children of veteran players and active-duty military personnel, whose skates they have sharpened since childhood, go on to play junior or college hockey.
The "9/11 Never Forget" hockey tournament continues with games scheduled for Friday night and Sunday at the Black Rock Mountain ice sheet in Park City. Admission to the event is free, though donations are welcomed. Lingelbach expressed his satisfaction in seeing the sport's growth and being a part of it, noting the unexpected yet fulfilling direction his life took following that day 25 years ago.