Copper Country Junior Hockey Association’s Steven Raisanen and Calumet’s Clark Sturos both line up for a faceoff during a game this season. (Photo courtesy of Calvin Larson)

CALUMET — The Calumet Ice Kings 10U Tier II travel hockey team will be hosting the state tournament this weekend at the Calumet Colosseum.

While they are excited to be hosting the tournament at home, they are also suffering from a bit of frustration as they did not manage to beat their rivals from the Copper Country Junior Hockey Association, the Junior Huskies, sponsored by J. Peltier Construction, to get there.

“We didn’t earn our right to get here as we did not win our district,” said Ice Kings coach Rob Bohlsen. “CCJHA won the district. We put up a good battle against them all year. So, it’s one of those things, whoever shows up to play.”

The two teams met last weekend, with Calumet taking the first game, and the CCJHA taking the second one.

At the same time, it means a lot to Calumet to host the tournament.

“It is always an exciting time to play in a state tournament,” Bohlsen said. “Hosting, it’s great for our community being able to get teams up here supporting our local hotels, local businesses, our local restaurants, for the Calumet Hockey Association. It’s a great opportunity to get our name a little bit on the map again, for not only our high school hockey, but our youth hockey.”

The Ice Kings will get a chance to get to work Friday afternoon with a game against the Downriver Otters at 2:30 p.m. The Junior Huskies will make their tournament debut at 1:45 p.m. against the Saginaw Junior Spirit.

For the CCJHA team, getting to play close to home is exciting, and coach Jeff Baril joked it might be more exciting for the parents than it is for the players.

“The kids are definitely excited,” he said. “They’ve had a great year. We’ve kind of been playing to get to this point this year, and win districts to get here. The kids are super excited to get a chance to play for the states.”

The Junior Huskies come into the weekend 40-5, and Baril said that his team has a blend of older and younger players that makes for a nice mix.

“It’s a group of 9 and 10 year olds that just love playing hockey,” he said. “Honestly, they’re a great group of kids. The culture in our locker room is just amazing. Everybody’s inclusive, and everyone gets along. So, it’s been a great year.

“We have five players from last year’s team that are on this year’s team again. We look to them as leaders, and they’ve really been a great group of kids to work with.”

The veterans of the Junior Huskies had a chance to play in the state tournament last year, so getting back there was the goal. The older group has really been helpful in getting the younger players up to speed.

“Each week you can see the younger players continue to come along and continue to develop,” Baril said. “That’s, honestly, the whole goal of this age group, the 10U level. A lot of kids are at many different levels, and throughout the year, you’re just trying to bring them along and advance them in all the ways that you can.”

The Ice Kings are 31-13-2, and Bohlsen feels the same way about his older players.

“They just lead by example every time that they step on the ice,” he said. “We talk about that a lot in the locker room about playing from whistle to whistle, period to period. Our second years are definitely our leaders in that category. Our first years have really stepped up to develop that same type of play and mentality when they’re playing alongside.”

Bohlsen and Baril have really enjoyed the battle between the two teams this season, and would love nothing more than to get one more chance at them, preferably in the championship game, as both teams are in opposite pools to start the weekend.

“We’ve had some good battles,” said Bohlsen. “It was nice to get a win on them this past week. We had a really good second-game battle with them. The puck wasn’t necessarily bouncing our way, but the battle between the two districts here has been great.

“I think if you look at, you know, myhockeyrankings.com or whatever, they’re probably a little bit ahead of us. But, we’re right there with them, and that just says something about our community in general, and mentality of our community, taking hockey as the No. 1 sport in this area.”

Calumet will face the Metro Junior Jets Saturday at 11 a.m., and then close out pool play at 6:45 p.m. against the Birmingham Rangers.

CCJHA’s second game will be Friday evening at 7:45 p.m. against the Traverse City North Stars. They will close out pool play Saturday against the Grand Rapids Griffins at 2:45 p.m.

The semifinals will be Sunday morning starting at 9 a.m. and 10:30 a.m., with the championship scheduled for 3:45 p.m.