The 3rd Annual Marquette county Hockey Night was hosted at NMU’s Berry Events Center on Saturday, September 13th, with Red Wings and hockey fans alike filling the seats and supporting the United Way of Marquette County. This was the 3rd straight year of the game, with the Detroit Red Wings alumni team coming up to Marquette and taking on local stars in the form of the Yoopers United Hockey Team for a friendly exhibition.
The evening kicked off at 3PM outside the Berry Events center with a tailgate party for the community; a bounce house, balloon art, cornhole, food vendors, grilling, street hockey, and smiles were shared as everyone geared up for the arrival of the Red Wings Alumn. A sled-hockey game was played between the Marquette Sled-Cats and the Keweenaw Rockets at 5:30PM ahead of the main event puck-drop! (If you are interested in learning more about, or getting involved with sled hockey in Marquette, you can contact Allen Beauchamp at allenbeauchamp@charter.net or call SAIL at (906)228-5744)
Puck drop was as at 7:00PM and it didn’t take long for the action to kick off with Yoopers United opening the scoring via Barbara Salmela, to everyones delight. The scoring came thick and fast from then on out, with practically everybody getting in on the act – by the time it was over the final score was 8-4 in favor of the Wings.
Detroit Red Wings Alumni Roster:
Randy McKay | RW, Luke Witkowski | RW, Mickey Redmond | RW, Joe Kocur | RW, Justin Abdelkader | LW, Alec Broetzman | LW, Jason Williams | LW, Brent Peterson | LW, Danny DeKeyser | D, Craig Wolanin | D, Ryan Kesler | C, George Bowman | G
Local Legends on the Alumni Roster:
Braden Golisek, Brad Beaudry, and Kevin Thomsen
Yoopers United Roster:
Gavin Porter | F, Wolff Belanger | F, Justin Florek | F, Neeco Belanger | F, Ryan Sullivan | F, Joey Enright | F, Charlie Holsworth | F, Corey Blake | F, Barbera Salmela | F, Chris Gobert | F, Jim Conlin | F, Tom Blake | F, Dave Shyiak | F, Mike Madosh | G, Joel Benson | D, Jim Jackson | D, Brian Kulbieda | D, Mason Aldrich, and Josh Paquette
The evening was wrapped up with an after party at The Ore Dock Brewing Co., catered by the awesome folks at Texas Roadhouse!
See our photo gallery from the afternoon here:
United Way works with partners to support individuals and families with programs and initiatives that support Basic Needs, Elderly citizens & Adults with disabilities, Medical assistance, and youth programs. Housing assistance, Food banks, and job training are just a few of the programs United Way is involved in.
