Provided photos The Michigan U.P. Veterans Hockey Club and the Michigan Warriors pose with their banners after the championship game of the Warrior Classic in Denver, Colorado.

HOUGHTON — On Saturday, April 6, the Michigan U.P. Veterans Hockey Club will host a very special night at the Dee Stadium. Dubbed “Northern Lights Hockey Night,” the MUPVHC will be hosting the Minnesota Warriors for a game at 7 p.m.

For the MUPVHC, this game is valuable in many ways. The first is that the proceeds from ticket sales will got to Equipment Loans of the Keweenaw. Another is that the team is “punching above their weight class” by taking on Minnesota.

“All the tournaments that we went in, they (Minnesota) always play in the elite level, so we’re stepping up our game a little bit,” said captain Jon French. “We’re kind of between elite and higher normal division, so we’re going to play on the elite level.”

Minnesota was not the first choice for the MUPVHC, however, when their original opponent had to bow out, they graciously reached out and the rest, as they say, is history.

“We want to get better, we want to have fun, and just meet new guys,” said French. “They reached out to us when our first option fell through, and we put it out on the National Warrior forum looking for a team to come over, and they answered within 10 minutes that we’d be glad to come.

“It took off from there.”

When French explained what the game proceeds were going to used for, Minnesota jumped at the idea quickly.

“They’re pretty excited about helping us raise money for the Equipment Loans of the Keweenaw,” French said. “They’re bringing over a jersey or two of theirs that we can auction off, and a bunch of pucks, and even pucks with bottle openers.”

Minnesota’s roster is made up of players from the Twin Cities area. Since they play at the elite level, they have a roster that is highly talented.

“The big distinction between the elite and the regular is that, at the elite (level), they have semi-pro, they’ve got college, you can have Junior A, AAA,” said French. “We are looking forward to playing, looking forward to the challenge, looking forward to the camaraderie.”

That camaraderie is such a big part of any game or event involving veteran hockey clubs.

“We’re just figuring things out, and it’s a way for us to network with other teams,” French said. “After the game, hopefully, we’ll have a lot of really good relationships with more people, more veterans down in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. If they need to go someplace, and they’re looking for players, hopefully they’ll reach out to us. If we need players someday, hopefully we can reach out to them.”

Establishing support systems is such a key for veterans, whether talking about veteran hockey players or just veterans trying to find their way back to life in their hometowns.

“Up here, the veterans do a pretty good job of helping each other,” said French. “But, when we get out of the area, that’s when you’re looking for that support. We’re just looking to make that connection. We’re looking to help provide some service in the community for the Elks and for junior hockey.”

During the game, the MUPVHC will have various resources on display, giving veterans in attendance a chance to see what options are available to them.

“We’re going to have some informational boosts from the potent county veterans service office to help pass out and give to veterans, so that if they do come upon hard times, they have resources available to them,” French said. “They’ve got a card. They’ve got a pamphlet. They know that, ‘Hey, man, I’m having a hard time, but I’ve got this resource that I can reach out to. I already made that contact, that establishment.’ Then, on top of that, it’s a great way for the community to come out.

“A lot of veterans, sometimes they feel kind of left out, ‘Hey, we did our service, and we’re just kind of like that forgotten part.’ Well, this is a perfect example of, hey, come show your support for the veterans. Let them know that you appreciate and you still support them, even though when they’re not in uniform, they’re just in a different uniform.”

The MUPVHC continues to be blown away by the amount of support they get throughout the Copper Country. They could not accomplish as much as they do without the support of companies like Keweenaw Brewing Company and others.

“Keweenaw Waters is another big, huge sponsor, the city of Houghton, and we’ve received over 46 different sponsors for this game event,” said French. “Again, it shows that the people around here care about each other. They love hockey. They care about their community. They care about their veterans, and they’ll do whatever they can to help out.

“In this world, it’s just extremely refreshing, when you think about all the news and stuff going on and all the bad information and all the stories and everybody. All the bad stuff going on in the world, then you focus in on a rural community in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, coming together with another team from out of state, to make something.”

Keweenaw Waters is covering the expense of lodging for Minnesota, which is something that both teams are excited about. Beyond that, showing off the community is something that the MUPVHC is very excited to do.

“My teammates and I could not wait to show off this community,” French said. “They come from a big city, and we’re hoping to show them what Copper Country is all about. They’re coming in on Friday. First of all, they were blown away and really appreciated that. We’re going to help them take care of the lodging. So Keweenaw Water stepped up, provided them free lodging, which is a huge when it comes to expense. We’re picking up Ambassador pizzas and some KBC, Hancock Bottling, donated some water and some Gatorade.

“We’re going to go out before they get here, and we’ll have pizzas and beverages and stuff to sit down and do a meet and greet with them on Friday night when they get here. Local businesses have donated baskets for silent auction. They’ve donated different things to put in player swag bags.”

On Saturday, Minnesota will get a tour of the surrounding area.

“Then Saturday, we’re taking them to another one of the game sponsors, the Suomi Restaurant, iconic to the local community,” said French. “We’re going to take them down there at 8:30, and go down and have breakfast with them so they can experience a little Finnish breakfast. Then after that, we’re taking them for a tour.”

Finally, the MUPVHC is excited to show off the Dee Stadium to their opponents.

“All of us are very excited to see the venue, and to see their opinions of the venue that we have going on at the Dee Stadium, to see all the people show up, to meet some of the sled hockey people that we’re playing for, to try to raise money for, to see the amount of people that are there to support all of us. The Michigan Tech Pep Band, Mark Oliver singing the national anthem. He’s incredible. He’s got this great big, booming opera voice. Anybody that’s listened to Mark Oliver sing knows exactly what I’m talking about. It’s just breathtaking. It just puts the hair up on the back of your neck.

“Just the community of support. I’m super excited. I can’t wait to show off this community almost as much as I can’t wait to play hockey.”

As far as who will be playing for MUPVHC, French is excited for the community to see the team, which has won two straight Warrior Classic titles at the level they have competed in, play.

“I can’t wait for it,” said French. “There’s so many of us. There’s a lot of really good local talent. When you see the roster of the players that are going to be playing, you’ll be like, ‘Wow, I don’t like playing against that guy. Yeah, I don’t like playing against that guy. He’s really fast. Yeah, that Lee DeForge is pretty crafty. Don’t want to play against him.’

“It’s just a solid roster that we put together, and we are looking forward to matching up against the elite team.”

The gates at Dee Stadium will open at 6 p.m. for the game. The cost for the game is $5 for the public. Active duty and retired military, firefighters, police, EMS, and children 12 and under are free.