Sports Wall of Fame unveiled before Badgers Game

ST. CATHARINES, Ont. – After spending its inaugural years at the St. Catharines Museum, the City of St. Catharines Sports Wall of Fame was unveiled at its new location in the Seymour-Hannah Entertainment Centre before Friday night's Ontario University Athletics match up between the Brock Badgers and Lakehead Thunderwolves.

"It's great to be here, and combined with the Sports Hall of Fame tonight, the wall being unveiled, and the support for the Brock Badgers, it's a lot of fun and you appreciate the players out there giving it there all," said City of St. Catharines Mayor Brian McMullan. "I had only a small role to play with the puck drop, but it is a real honour.

"In attendance at centre ice for the ceremonial puck drop between Badgers assistant captain Ryan Allen and Thunderwolves captain Andrew Wilkins were Mayor McMullan Brock University Assistant Athletics Director Chris Critelli, Grantham Ward City Councillor Bill Phillips, and Wall of Fame Member Peter Neumann.

"Many Hall of Fame members were here including Susan Erskine and Dave Howes, and we thought it was a great idea to have the ceremony before the Badgers game," said Critelli. "These events showcase the great relationship that Brock University and the City of St. Catharines have always had working together."

Also on hand for the ceremony was the Member of Provincial Parliament for St. Catharines and current Minister of Environment Jim Bradley, but it was McMullan that conveyed the feelings of the die-hard hockey fans in the city.

"There has never been a better time to be a hockey fan in St. Catharines with the Brock Badgers, the Junior B Falcons, the Niagara IceDogs, and the new spectator facility being built in downtown St. Catharines," he said. "It is exciting to think about what the future has in store for this city."