Copper Range Roofing won the Betty Beckman 8U tournament last weekend in Marquette. Pictured are team members Finn Bastian (6), Micah Jukuri (10), Niko Laho (3), Emmett Codere (2), Jacob Luokkanen (12), James Perala (7), Caleb Jeannotte (14), Lee Madosh (5), and Henrik Hampton (4), along with head coach Chris Codere and assistant coach Travis Perala. (Provided photo)

CALUMET — Last weekend, 32 teams of players in age groups 8U and 6U descended on Marquette for the Betty Beckman Memorial Tournament. Two teams from Calumet made it to the 8U championship game, and Copper Range Roofing managed to come out on top.

Coach Chris Codere, who also sponsored the team, was proud of the effort he got out of his team.

“I knew, from the beginning of the season, that I had a special group of kids,” he said. “They ultimately lived up to their full potential this season.”

With enough players having signed up to play hockey in the Calumet Hockey Association this season, Codere had a chance to run the fifth 8U team. He had served as an assistant coach before, but was excited to get the chance to be a head coach this season.

Codere believed in his players so much, he informed the parents of what he thought his team’s chances would be. His words proved true at the end of the team’s sixth game of the weekend.

“(It was) an almost surreal moment,” he said. “I told the parents before the tournament that I knew we could win it if the kids continued to work together, pass the puck, and hustle their butts off, and they did.”

The Betty Beckman Memorial Tournament was started in 1985. The tournament hosted 32 teams this season, with 20 of those in the 8U category. Prior to this past weekend, only one Calumet team had ever won the tournament, Calumet Machine, in 2016.

“The Betty Beckman Memorial Tournament was started the year I was born, in 1985, and this is only the second time a Calumet team has won it,” Codere said. “The last time was in 2016 when Calumet Machine won it. So, this is a big accomplishment for the Calumet Hockey Association as well as our first-year team.”

Copper Range Roofing opened the tournament with an 8-7 win. They then won their second game 15-4, and their third 2-1. They tied their final game of the opening round 4-4, setting up a semifinal matchup with O’Boyle Construction out of Marquette.

It took overtime, but Copper Range Roofing prevailed, 7-6. Codere called that win the best game of the year for his team.

The other semifinal matchup was between a pair of Calumet Hockey Association teams, with the Calumet Machine coming out on top. Copper Range Roofing had tied and beaten Calumet Machine and tied them this season. The tie came in the Gipp Tournament, where the two teams finished 4-4. In their second meeting Copper Range Roofing won, 12-3, so there was plenty of reason for Codere’s team to be confident.

In the championship game, Copper Range Roofing emerged with the win, 10-5.

In all, the tournament was a great experience for multiple Calumet teams.

“The awesome part is we had three Calumet teams in the semifinals for 8U and one 6U team in the semifinals,” he said. “Overall, a great weekend filled with a lot of great hockey and teamwork.”