And the Pioneers took it to the Wolverines with a 5-3 win in the upgraded 106-year-old Calumet Colosseum.

Portage Lake led by as much as four goals after two periods. Matt Mantta led the Pioneers with two goals and Hunter Kero had two assists.

Calumet struck with three third-period goals to tighten the score enough for the team to pull goaltender Ian Carroll in the final minutes.

Former Detroit Red Wings players Drew Miller and Kirk Maltby served as coaches for each team. Miller manned the victorious Pioneers’ bench while Maltby was with the Wolverines.

Portage Lake Pioneers' Matt Mantta celebrates with the bench after scoring a goal against the Calumet Wolverines on Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2019, at the Calumet Colosseum, in Calumet, Mich. (Adam Niemi/The Daily Mining Gazette)

The two disagreed about the game being on their coaching record.

“Yeah well it’s exhibition so it doesn’t really go on my resume or anything like that,” Maltby said. “It was fun. We had a good time and made a game of it. I was happy that we put three in the third there and made a game of it. The disappointing part is losing to Drew. But if this was a regular season game and I was the head coach, we would’ve been more prepared.”

Miller, with a 1-0 Great Lakes Hockey League coaching mark, disagreed.

“It always counts,” Miller said. “It always counts, Kirk.”

Calumet scored three minutes into the third with an assist from Kory Anderson.

A crowd looks on during a game between the Calumet Wolverines and Portage Lake Pioneers on Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2019, in Calumet, Mich. (Adam Niemi/The Daily Mining Gazette)

Portage Lake answered with a goal by Aaron Sturos to keep the Wolverines at bay. The goal was assisted by Cody Sivonen and Charlie Turner.

The Wolverines followed later in the period with a slap shot from the point by Josh Harju with five minutes to go.

Jim Brey added another Wolverines goal with 1:40 remaining, with assists from Byron Parks and Brendan Middleton. Carroll was pulled seconds later, but the Wolverines now found enough offensive momentum to knot the score.

Maltby, who won four Stanley Cups with the Red Wings, said he enjoyed his last few days in Calumet.

Russ Daavetilla put Portage Lake first on the Kraft Hockeyville-themed scoreboard with a goal from the slot at 14:00 in the first. Reid Pietila and Hunter Kero assisted the goal.

“I had no clue where Calumet was. I knew it was in the UP,” Maltby said. “When things started coming together, they’re trying to make plans for the events leading into the game on Thursday. I got asked. I wasn’t sure at first just because of my own schedule. When I knew I had an opportunity, I thought why not, and I’m glad I did.

“From yesterday from doing the little fair thing and doing autographs and then doing the 6U and 8U clinic or hockey clinic today and ending with this game tonight, I’m extremely glad I did it,” Maltby added. “Definitely would come up here not just for hockey, but I would come up here just to be around and hang out a bit. The people have been great. I’m sure they’re going to have an absolute blast when the real NHL game is up here. I was really pleased and proud to be a part of this game tonight.”

Miller, who played eight years with the Red Wings, said he had been to Houghton when he was a kid, and has seen much of the UP over the years.

“I came up here to Michigan Tech for hockey school when I was in like fourth or fifth grade, so like ’94, ’95, somewhere around there,” he said. “My brother (Ryan) played juniors in Sault Ste. Marie so I’ve been there a bunch. We played Northern when I was at Michigan State. I’ve been up here a little bit. I’ve got some family — I think my great, great grandma or something like that — they lived up in the UP somewhere. I’m not sure exactly where. Then they came down to lower Lansing area. I’ve got some ties up here and I’ve been up here a little bit. It was nice to get up here and experience it.”

Miller said he enjoyed learning about the hockey culture in the area, more so than when he visited prior as a kid.

“Actually I learned a lot more being up here the last couple days,” he said. “It’s a great history up here of starting out the NHL here and pro hockey. Just the rivalry in this game. Just to see the kids and the passion they have for hockey, it’s great.”

Maltby said he’s excited for passionate Copper Country fans to get a taste of the NHL’s size and speed. While he said he was impressed by the level of play between the Wolverines and Pioneers, he added that it’s nowhere near NHL level.

“They probably will not realize until they see the game how fast it is. They’re going to see some extremely fast hockey, how fast the guys skate, how fast the puck moves, how hard they shoot, how big they are,” Maltby said. “I mean, just everything in the realm of the way the NHL is these days. They’re going to see a lot of things, for those that have never seen the game up close and personal, they’re going to have an eye-opener. It’s going to be exciting. I wish I was staying here to be able to see what the response is. The game is so fast now and these guys are so highly skilled and able to do things at such a high pace. It’s no disrespect to the game we played tonight, but it’s 10 levels higher than that.”

Thursday’s preseason game between the Detroit Red Wings and St. Louis Blues takes place at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast live on NBC Sports.

Portage Lake 2 2 1 — 5

Calumet 0 0 3 — 3

First Period–1, Portage Lake, Daavetilla (Pietila, H. Kero), 6:00. 2, Portage Lake, Mantta (Lepisto), 14:40. Penalties–Harris, PL (slashing), 14:10; McKay, PL (hooking), 16:34.

Second Period–3, Portage Lake, Mantta (Nordstrom), 5:15. 4, Portage Lake, Pietila (H. Kero), 8:55. Penalties–Beiring, Cal (tripping), 9:35.

Third Period–5, Calumet, Beiring (K. Anderson), 2:50. 6, Portage Lake, Sturos (Sivonen, Turner), 5:24. 7, Calumet, Harju, 14:38. 8, Calumet, Brey (Parks, Middleton), 18:20. Penalties–Beiring, Cal (hooking), 3:16; Ploe, PL (roughing), 7:17.