GENEVA – Sometime between the delivery of their latest one-liner and the moment their sons emerged from the Chicago Steel locker room, Ken Sweezey and Jeff Walker uttered variations of a familiar phrase.

Pass through the glass doors of Fox Valley Ice Arena, walk under the 17 United States Hockey League banners dangling from the foyer ceiling and choose a rink on either side. Chances are, you’ll hear someone deliver the sentiment again. From the stands, from the bench, during a stoppage in play.

“The hockey world is a small world,” the saying goes, and shouldn’t Sweezey and Walker know? Here were two men who have known each other since skating as opponents in Boston’s developmental circles more than three decades ago reuniting because their sons now played the same game for the same team.

Sweezey’s son, Billy, is a 19-year-old defenseman committed to Yale. Walker’s son, Johnny, also 19, is an Arizona State-bound power forward.

“We had been keeping tabs on each other, kind of,” Billy Sweezey said. “We knew about each other, but never actually formally met.”

While Billy Sweezey has played in 26 of the Steel’s 28 games, Johnny Walker ultimately can be classified as a Steel stopgap. The 2015 draftee joined the club for three games this month amid several player absences for national junior competitions before returning to Minot (North Dakota) of the lower-tiered North American Hockey League.

The hockey world also is a fast-paced, mobile world, so Walker may skate again with the Steel during the 2015-16 season. Should he return, he’ll be hard-pressed to replicate the night of his USHL debut.

Days after joining the team and hours after his dad flew in from Phoenix, Walker used a dazzling, high-slot move to score the shootout winner in a victory against visiting Youngstown (Ohio) on Dec. 10.

Talk about timing.

“Oh, this was phenomenal. This was great,” Jeff Walker said. “I think he had a tough game. He was, like, minus-2 or something like that and I know it was kind of bothering him, so it was kind of nice to see him recover like that, you know. He really wanted to make this team last spring when he tried out, and he was pretty heartbroken. For him to be invited back and to be able to do that was pretty awesome.”

Steel coach Dan Muse tapped Johnny Walker for shootout duty given his knowledge of the move – seen on film, during training camp and then up close in practice.

In some respects, Johnny Walker’s send-up of his own style figured to disqualify him for the responsibility.

“I’ve always been kind of saltier to play against. Never really liked anyone I played against,” he said. “So not out there to make friends, for sure. Definitely looking to bring the physical edge to that. Then just work hard and everything will fall into place.”

That last part especially resonates with Ken Sweezey and Jeff Walker, whose highest level of shared competition came in NCAA Division I in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Ken Sweezey, a former center at Providence, used Jeff Walker’s noggin as a prop when recalling his pal’s days as a goaltender at Boston College.

“Can’t you tell?” Ken Sweezey grinned. “He’s still red up there.”

The men found the wisecracks hardly had left them during a rendezvous in Arizona a few years ago. A mutual friend persuaded Ken Sweezey to take up men’s league hockey, a pastime Jeff Walker had favored after the family relocated to The Grand Canyon State in 1993.

The Scottsdale-Tempe region hosts the Arizona Hockey Classic, one of the largest amateur hockey tournaments worldwide. In this instance, it doubled as a reunion venue for Ken Sweezey and Jeff Walker.

“Like most people,” Ken Sweezey said, “we lost touch for probably 15, 20 years because we had our own lives.”

Turns out they shared a few other things in common, namely professionally. Ken Sweezey owns a fencing company, while Jeff Walker runs a hotel function facility.

Their sons’ worlds first intertwined during Steel camp in the summer. Billy Sweezey’s arrival in a trade from Dubuque (Iowa) put him in the Steel organization alongside Johnny Walker.

“It was like, ‘Sweet. They’re together,’ “ Jeff Walker said.

“That was the first time our kids ever met, and we’ve known each other since we were little kids,” said Ken Sweezey, gesturing to Jeff Walker. “So it was kind of weird that way.”

Billy Sweezey happily showed Johnny Walker around and introduced him to his billet family in St. Charles, with whom Johnny Walker stayed during his brief tenure.

For now, Billy Sweezey and Johnny Walker are united on the Steel stat sheet, as well. Both have scored one goal for the club, although Sweezey’s role as a stay-at-home defenseman ultimately limits his offensive contributions.

Should they share the Steel locker room a few more times before college, the competition to create distance in that department will be on.

You need look no further than their fathers for proof.

Billy Sweezey took a hard hit during the Youngstown game and appeared to be wobbly, but Jeff Walker kept the faith.

“He’ll be all right. Tough kid,” Jeff Walker grinned. “Unlike his father. His father would be out for a couple weeks.”

GENEVA – Sometime between the delivery of their latest one-liner and the moment their sons emerged from the Chicago Steel locker room, Ken Sweezey and Jeff Walker uttered variations of a familiar phrase.

Pass through the glass doors of Fox Valley Ice Arena, walk under the 17 United States Hockey League banners dangling from the foyer ceiling and choose a rink on either side. Chances are, you’ll hear someone deliver the sentiment again. From the stands, from the bench, during a stoppage in play.

“The hockey world is a small world,” the saying goes, and shouldn’t Sweezey and Walker know? Here were two men who have known each other since skating as opponents in Boston’s developmental circles more than three decades ago reuniting because their sons now played the same game for the same team.

Sweezey’s son, Billy, is a 19-year-old defenseman committed to Yale. Walker’s son, Johnny, also 19, is an Arizona State-bound power forward.

“We had been keeping tabs on each other, kind of,” Billy Sweezey said. “We knew about each other, but never actually formally met.”

While Billy Sweezey has played in 26 of the Steel’s 28 games, Johnny Walker ultimately can be classified as a Steel stopgap. The 2015 draftee joined the club for three games this month amid several player absences for national junior competitions before returning to Minot (North Dakota) of the lower-tiered North American Hockey League.

The hockey world also is a fast-paced, mobile world, so Walker may skate again with the Steel during the 2015-16 season. Should he return, he’ll be hard-pressed to replicate the night of his USHL debut.

Days after joining the team and hours after his dad flew in from Phoenix, Walker used a dazzling, high-slot move to score the shootout winner in a victory against visiting Youngstown (Ohio) on Dec. 10.

Talk about timing.

“Oh, this was phenomenal. This was great,” Jeff Walker said. “I think he had a tough game. He was, like, minus-2 or something like that and I know it was kind of bothering him, so it was kind of nice to see him recover like that, you know. He really wanted to make this team last spring when he tried out, and he was pretty heartbroken. For him to be invited back and to be able to do that was pretty awesome.”

Steel coach Dan Muse tapped Johnny Walker for shootout duty given his knowledge of the move – seen on film, during training camp and then up close in practice.

In some respects, Johnny Walker’s send-up of his own style figured to disqualify him for the responsibility.

“I’ve always been kind of saltier to play against. Never really liked anyone I played against,” he said. “So not out there to make friends, for sure. Definitely looking to bring the physical edge to that. Then just work hard and everything will fall into place.”

That last part especially resonates with Ken Sweezey and Jeff Walker, whose highest level of shared competition came in NCAA Division I in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Ken Sweezey, a former center at Providence, used Jeff Walker’s noggin as a prop when recalling his pal’s days as a goaltender at Boston College.

“Can’t you tell?” Ken Sweezey grinned. “He’s still red up there.”

The men found the wisecracks hardly had left them during a rendezvous in Arizona a few years ago. A mutual friend persuaded Ken Sweezey to take up men’s league hockey, a pastime Jeff Walker had favored after the family relocated to The Grand Canyon State in 1993.

The Scottsdale-Tempe region hosts the Arizona Hockey Classic, one of the largest amateur hockey tournaments worldwide. In this instance, it doubled as a reunion venue for Ken Sweezey and Jeff Walker.

“Like most people,” Ken Sweezey said, “we lost touch for probably 15, 20 years because we had our own lives.”

Turns out they shared a few other things in common, namely professionally. Ken Sweezey owns a fencing company, while Jeff Walker runs a hotel function facility.

Their sons’ worlds first intertwined during Steel camp in the summer. Billy Sweezey’s arrival in a trade from Dubuque (Iowa) put him in the Steel organization alongside Johnny Walker.

“It was like, ‘Sweet. They’re together,’ “ Jeff Walker said.

“That was the first time our kids ever met, and we’ve known each other since we were little kids,” said Ken Sweezey, gesturing to Jeff Walker. “So it was kind of weird that way.”

Billy Sweezey happily showed Johnny Walker around and introduced him to his billet family in St. Charles, with whom Johnny Walker stayed during his brief tenure.

For now, Billy Sweezey and Johnny Walker are united on the Steel stat sheet, as well. Both have scored one goal for the club, although Sweezey’s role as a stay-at-home defenseman ultimately limits his offensive contributions.

Should they share the Steel locker room a few more times before college, the competition to create distance in that department will be on.

You need look no further than their fathers for proof.

Billy Sweezey took a hard hit during the Youngstown game and appeared to be wobbly, but Jeff Walker kept the faith.

“He’ll be all right. Tough kid,” Jeff Walker grinned. “Unlike his father. His father would be out for a couple weeks.”