Photo provided by Jon French Players from the Michigan Upper Peninsula Veterans Hockey Club and Saginaw Spirit Warriors face off in the first Battle of the Bridge game in January. The rematch occurs at 7 p.m. Saturday at Dee Stadium in Houghton.

HOUGHTON — Veterans from around the state will lace up their skates and hit the rink this weekend for a good cause.

At Saturday’s Battle of the Bridge, the Michigan Upper Peninsula Veterans Hockey Club will face off against the Saginaw Spirit Warriors. The game starts 7 p.m. Saturday at Dee Stadium.

Proceeds will go towards the D.J. Jacobetti Home for Veterans in Marquette. Admission is $5. It is free for any active or veteran military personnel, police, firefighters, EMS personnel or children under 12.

The game is the second in a two-game series with Saginaw. It came out of a conversation Jon French, player and manager for the U.P.’s team, had with a high school friend who now plays for Saginaw’s team.

French’s friend asked him if he could round up enough Upper Peninsula veterans for a team.

“Once I said, ‘Yeah, we’ve got a couple,’ he said, ‘I officially challenge you guys to a game,'” French said.

The first game, held in Saginaw in January, raised funds for veterans’ causes downstate. Beyond raising funds, the game also helps give veterans camaraderie and a new way to serve, French said.

“I’m receiving emails from wives saying my husband or spouse is a lot happier now that they’re out on the ice,” he said. “We hear from players, ‘I haven’t been this excited for a long time.”

French recruited players through the 107th National Guard battalion out of Negaunee, social media and word of mouth. The resulting team boasts members from Sault Ste. Marie to Mohawk.

The distances make it tough to assemble for practice, French said. But when they got on the ice, they gelled quickly.

The U.P.’s team won the first match in January “pretty handily,” French said.

“They’ve grown up playing hockey, they know how to cycle, they know how to put the puck into the open ice and let the guy skate into it,” French said. “When we played Game One, everything just worked. When you look at practice, it looks like all of us have been playing together for a long time.”

At the Dee, several local agencies will have informational displays and people on hand to discuss their services, including the veterans service officer for Houghton and Keweenaw counties, the Veterans Center, the Michigan National Guard, D.J. Jacobetti Home and the Community Action Agency.

“Every aspect of what a veteran could need is right there,” French said. “All the resources are there in one spot.”

The game could get even bigger in future years. French has heard from a Travis Harris, a Navy veteran and Copper Country native who plays for a Warriors team affiliated with the Carolina Hurricanes.

“He said, ‘This is awesome. We’ve been waiting for a team. I want to play on home ice, let the guys know where I’m from,'” French said.

The military involvement extends to all facets of the game. A Navy veteran in dress blues will sing the national anthem. A 104-year-old Korean War veteran will drop the puck. And the Calumet Junior Officer Reserve Training Corps will perform the color guard ceremony.

The city of Houghton will bus in veterans from local rest homes to watch the game. When they arrive, ROTC cadets will help them upstairs to watch the game from a heated room. They will also get free food and drinks from the concession stand, run by the Copper Country Junior Hockey Association.

In addition to ticket money, the D.J. Jacobetti Home will get proceeds from the 50/50 raffle, chuck-a-puck, and an auction of four Michigan UP Veteran Hockey Club jerseys.

“There’s a lot of pieces all coming together, and the community support is absolutely unreal,” French said. “The support from the veterans and the enthusiasm for veterans is extremely high.”

Hopefully, the team can become big enough that they can send squads out to road games in North Carolina and other places, with players selected to match the experience level of the opposing team, French said.

The state government has even gotten involved, with Sen. Ed McBroom making a friendly wager with Saginaw’s Sen. Ken Horn. If the U.P. Team wins, McBroom gets a fried chicken dinner from Frankenmuth. If Saginaw wins, McBroom has to provide pasties.

“It’s not just a Houghton-and-Calumet thing,” French said. “We’ve got support from all across the U.P., players from across the U.P., and even our own government can agree this is a great cause to support.”