Linesman Brady Olson drops the puck as Michigan UP Veterans Hockey Club center Dominick Nettell battles in the first period of a game against the Minnesota Warriors Hockey Club Saturday as part of Northern Lights Hockey Night at Dee Stadium Saturday, April 6, 2024. (Daver Karnosky/Daily Mining Gazette)

HOUGHTON — In an extremely memorable game last April, the Michigan U.P. Veterans Hockey Club found themselves trailing the Minnesota Warriors 3-0 just 4:52 into the game at Dee Stadium. Slowly, but surely, the MUPVHC found its game, and when the final buzzer sounded, the team came away with an 8-5 win, and a newfound admiration from their opponents.

It sounds like this season, the Warriors are ready for the the MUPVHC brings when they meet up on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Dee Stadium.

“It’s the same team in name, but it sounds like the roster might be a little bit more beefed up this time for them,” said MUPVHC co-captain Jon French. “I think they’re bringing more guys, and so that’ll definitely be to their benefit. Then we actually might be a little shorthanded, but we’ll make the most of it.”

While the end result was what the MUPVHC wanted, last season’s start was definitely not.

“Three goals in five minutes, and it just kind of shocked us,” French said. “We were like, ‘God, what did we get ourselves into?’ But no, everybody was able to kind of calm down, kind of gather our wits, and play a little bit smarter. Hext thing you know, we started putting more shots on net. The goals followed, and, yeah, we just had a little bit better time.

“Even to this day, it’s funny talking to the guys.”

French said that he heard a ton of comments after the game last season from the Warriors players about how much they enjoyed the atmosphere, but were definitely not prepared for the entire experience.

“It’s funny how the guys talk about, like, different things in the atmosphere that affects opposing teams,” said French. “The Warrior guys were just like, ‘Man, we still can’t believe how much hassling we got from the fans, and just the nice jeering and stuff like that from the Michigan Tech Pep Band, and the razzing our guys got. You guys would score a goal, and they start telling our goaltender he sucked, and one of their guys said, ‘I got a penalty, and I look over and there’s two young kids there,’ and they’re like, ‘Hey, do you know why you got that penalty?’ He goes, ‘Yeah, I tripped the guy,’ and they said, ‘No, because you suck,’ and they ran away.

“They absolutely love the area. They love the community, and they’re very, very excited to come back. So much so that they’re bringing their fans with them. They are going to live stream back in Minnesota for those that want to watch. So, it’s getting a little bit bigger. It’s pretty nice.”

As great as all that is, French and his teammates know it means so much more than just a hockey game.

“Ultimately, the people that win is pretty much everybody,” he said. “Hopefully, the fans will get a nice night out. There will be vet services there, different vet services that they can partake in. Lots of camaraderie shared between both teams. We’re looking forward to that. And, then we can raise some money for local junior hockey, and the Copper Country Veterans Association.”

Last year, the MUPVHC showed the Warriors around for the day before the game. When French and his teammates reached out this season to finalize details, it turned out that they wanted the exact same experience this season.

“This year we’ve got a pasty breakfast for them, (and a) Michigan Tech hockey facilities tour on Saturday. We’re going to take them around the area like we did last year,” said French. “When we asked them, ‘Well, what do you want to do? We’ll take you around, anything specific you want to see?’ They said, ‘Actually, if we could just do the same thing we did last year, because we want the people that missed out last year on doing this stuff, we want them to experience it as well. So that should be fun.”

Last week, the MUPVHC played in Ironwood, this weekend, they are hosting Minnesota again. Building these team relationships means more than just getting to play hockey.

“There’s so many facets to this Warrior hockey, and to the Michigan U.P. Veterans Hockey Club, from the camaraderie and the mission statement of helping each other, and serving that mission in the community, serving the people in the community, it’s hard to explain,” French said. “We went from initial team, when we first started, of like 18 guys. Now we’re over 40 guys. We have our uniforms filled. We look good. We have enough for we have to bust off into an ‘A’ team and a ‘B’ team. Now things are going good.

“Just the fact that if it’s growing, we’re able to have a bigger impact, and a bigger footprint, both on the veteran community, as well as the Upper Peninsula community, as well as other veterans that we go play. We were able to have more representatives or ambassadors for the Copper Country, and for the Upper Peninsula, to go out and show everybody that, hey, man, these guys are really good at hockey. It was just natural for them. These guys are really funny. They’re great guys to hang out with.”

In playing teams from outside the state, the MUPVHC can also spread a message of connection and camaraderie with teams from other areas of the country.

“Even more so, a life outside the military, that there are people that actually do care and understand them, and appreciate them, after their military career is over with,” said French. “We get a lot of times where so much of our support here in the Upper Peninsula is because people are good, patriotic Americans. They appreciate the sacrifices that the veterans have made, and it’s a way of them getting to know and say thank you, and just helping them out. It’s really important for everybody.”

The MUPVHC finally lost a game last Saturday down in Ironwood. However, at the same time, they helped raise money for the local hockey scene.

“We went down there, and over half of the team that we took down there have never played a game for Michigan U.P. Vets, so it’s just figuring everybody out, and each other plays,” French said. “Then, also, it was all about what we did for the community. They raised $2,500 for their local Ironwood Junior Hockey Association, and to put towards repairing their ice plant for them. So, it was nice to be able to give back. It was really cool to see the support.”

Saturday, the warmups will start at 6:30 p.m., and Mark Oliver is set to return and sing the national anthem before the ceremonial puck drop by Houghton City Manager Eric Waara.

“Eric Waara is going to come out and drop our game official puck,” said French. “That’s a big significance for us, him representing the City of Houghton. (The city has) helped us tremendously through the years. We’re very, very honored to have him come out as a representative for the city and drop the buck. It’s kind of a staple of, ‘Hey, this is a community.’ We’re proud to have him out there.”

Michigan UP Veterans Hockey Club forward Mike Seratti makes a play on a puck along the boards during a game against the Minnesota Warriors Hockey Club Saturday as part of Northern Lights Hockey Night at Dee Stadium Saturday, April 6, 2024. (Daver Karnosky/Daily Mining Gazette)