By DAVER KARNOSKY

dkarnosky@mininggazette.com

With the Michigan Tech Huskies hockey season opening Saturday with an exhibition game with the Northern Michigan Wildcats, a number of Copper Country natives and players who once donned the Black and Gold are already in season with their respective teams throughout North America, and also in Europe.

In the North American Hockey League, the Watertown Shamrocks feature a pair of Houghton natives in Camden Markham and Eli Mikesch.

Watertown took part in the NAHL showcase last weekend, where the Shamrocks won two of their three games. They opened with a loss to the Springfield Jr. Blues, 2-1, but bounced back with a 5-4 win over the Rochester Jr. Americans and then closed out the tournament with a 6-0 blanking of the Oklahoma Warriors.

Markham picked up an assist on the lone Shamrocks goal against the Blues. In the win over the Americans’ he picked up another assist on a goal by Kody Moyer that gave Watertown a 4-3 lead in the second period.

In the game against the Warriors, he scored the game’s sixth goal at 8:58 of the third period. He now has one goal and four points in five games to start the season.

Mikesch picked up a pair of assists in the game against the Warriors as well, moving him to three points, all assists, in five games this season.

The Austin Bruins, who have a local player in Calumet native Jackson Rilei, went 3-0 in the showcase, beating the Elmira Aviators, 6-1, the New Hampshire Mountain Kings, 4-1, and the New Mexico Ice Wolves, 2-1.

Rilei scored the opening goal in the win over the Aviators and he added an assist on the second goal. He did not pick up a point in either of the other two games.

He now has a goal and two points in four games to start the season.

In the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League, the Melville Millionaires, who feature Houghton native Gaborik Carlson, are 4-0 to start their season after a 4-2 win over Notre Dame on Friday, Sept. 27. They followed that up with a 5-2 win on Saturday.

With his team down 2-0 in the first period, Carlson set up Caden Drury for his second goal of the season to spark a four-goal outburst by the Millionaires en route to the win.

Carlson now has one assist in four games to start the season.

In Europe, Houghton native Connor Raffaelli is playing for EC-KAC U20 in the Austria U20i league. He has two assists in five games to start the season.

In AAA hockey in the Detroit area, Hancock native Todd Kilpela continues his hot start with Victory Honda, where he has two goals and 10 points in 12 games.

On the professional side, eight former Huskies have seen time in NHL training camps already this season. Arvid Caderoth and Pheonix Copley both were in camp with the Los Angeles Kings. Brian Halonen was in camp with the New Jersey Devils. Michael Karow was in camp with the Dallas Stars. Jujhar Khaira was in camp with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Jake Lucchini was in camp with the Nashville Predators. Logan Pietila was in camp with the Pittsburgh Penguins, and Matt Roy was in camp with the Washington Capitals.

Roy, Halonen, Lucchini, and Copley are still in camp with their clubs.

Pietila helped lift the Penguins’ American Hockey League team in Wilkes-Barre to a shootout win over the Hershey Bears on Thursday with a goal in the shootout.