Admirals icons lace up for reunion on ice

NORFOLK

Murray Hood was a 100-point scorer for the Norfolk Admirals during their first championship season, but by 1992 he was ready to hang up his skates.

And for 17 years, those skates stayed on the hook.

So when Dennis McEwen called to invite Hood to lace 'em up again for the second Admirals Alumni Game, Hood had a quick reply:

"Hell no!"

"I had some good times, did want I wanted to do," he said. "I'd just had enough."

McEwen wasn't put off that easily. He contacted Hood's boss, and the two of them kept badgering the former Admirals star until Hood finally relented.

But while Hood was willing, his gear wasn't.

"They had to get all this rust off my skates," he said. "I couldn't get my old bag open. Needed to use WD-40 on the zipper. And then there was mold on my pants."

Fortunately for Hood, even after a 17-year layoff, his skills were in much better shape.

"Maybe he drank the WD-40," fellow Admirals alumnus Glen Kehrer said. "He still has the ol' moves."

Hood even scored a goal off a nifty feed from McEwen in Saturday's alumni game, which ended with Hood's Team White dropping a 7-6 shootout decision.

"I guess it really is kind of like riding a bike," Hood said when it over. "I just wish it was a stationary bike. My legs feel like iron."

Even so, Hood said the stinging pain in his thighs was worth it to hook up with his former mates again.

"It was so long ago, and I didn't really want to re-visit the past," Hood said. "But as soon as I walked into the room and saw all those old faces, it was like it all happened yesterday."