Tomorrow’s stars today: Hillier Memorial youth hockey this weekend

Hillier Memorial youth hockey this weekend

This is the Marquette American Legion 14-under youth hockey team that won the title at the Boo in the Soo tournament held in Sault Ste. Marie earlier this month. This team will join 17 other teams, including three others from Marquette County and another four from other parts of the Upper Peninsula, at the Daren Hillier Memorial Iron Sticks Tournament to be held at Lakeview Arena in Marquette from Friday through Sunday. (Photo courtesy Jon Nebel)

This is the Marquette American Legion 14-under youth hockey team that won the title at the Boo in the Soo tournament held in Sault Ste. Marie earlier this month. This team will join 17 other teams, including three others from Marquette County and another four from other parts of the Upper Peninsula, at the Daren Hillier Memorial Iron Sticks Tournament to be held at Lakeview Arena in Marquette from Friday through Sunday. (Photo courtesy Jon Nebel)

The annual Daren Hillier Memorial Iron Sticks Tournament will feature 18 teams from three age levels playing throughout Friday, Saturday and Sunday on both rinks at Marquette's municipal ice arena, the Russell and the Olson.

Teams are both local, like the Marquette Active Physical Therapy team and Iron Range Miners out of Negaunee, and from the Lower Peninsula and Wisconsin, like Little Caesars from the Detroit area and Fox Valley out of central Wisconsin.

Admission is free with the main concession stand and the Superior Hockey Pro Shop open, according to Marquette Junior Hockey representative Jon Nebel, a longtime coach with the organization, this year with the Marquette American Legion team in this event.

Nebel mentioned that the Hillier family helps raise money for MJH through this and other events, while the Folker family has helped get players started at the beginning levels and youngest ages of the organization.

Age divisions this weekend are 10-and-under, 12-under and 14-under with six teams featured in each. All teams play three games in a rather unique format. The half-dozen teams in each age group are split into two divisions, but rather than playing teams from your own division, you play the three teams from the other division.

Nebel said organizers tried to place local and Upper Peninsula teams together, since they'll likely play each other later in the season.

For example, in the 10U division, the Marquette Active Physical Therapy team will face Appleton, Wisconsin, the Traverse City North Stars and Detroit-area Little Caesars.

Some of the other non-U.P. teams include Fox Valley from Wisconsin, and from the Lower Peninsula, Orchard Lake Red from the Pontiac area and the Rockford Rams of the Grand Rapids area.

After playing pool games throughout Friday and most of Saturday, Nebel said that the top four teams among the six in each age group advance to the semifinals.

For 10U, semis are the late games Saturday, while 12U and 14U have their semis on Sunday morning.

Then the finals are scheduled from the late morning through the afternoon on Sunday.

Here is the schedule, listed by day and division with game time and arena:

Friday

10U -- Marquette Active Physical Therapy vs. Appleton, 10 a.m., Russell Arena; Iron Range Miners vs. Traverse City North Stars, 11 a.m., Olson Arena; Calumet Jr. Kings vs. Little Caesars, 11:30 a.m., Russell

12U -- Marquette Superior Hockey vs. Traverse City North Stars, 12:30 p.m., Olson; Calumet Jr. Kings vs. Saginaw Jr. Spirit, 1 p.m., Russell; Fox Valley vs. Orchard Lake Red, 2 p.m., Olson

14U -- Marquette American Legion vs. Traverse City North Stars, 2:30 p.m., Russell; Copper Country Jr. Huskies vs. Saginaw Jr. Spirit, 3:30 p.m., Olson; Calumet Jr. Kings vs. Rockford Rams, 4:30 p.m., Russell

10U -- Traverse City vs. Marquette APT, 5:30 p.m., Olson; Little Caesars vs. Iron Range, 6:30 p.m., Russell; Appleton vs. Calumet, 7 p.m., Olson

Saturday

12U -- Saginaw vs. Mqt. Sup. Hockey, 7:30 a.m., Olson; Orchard Lake vs. Calumet, 8 a.m., Russell; Traverse City vs. Fox Valley, 9 a.m., Olson

14U -- Saginaw vs. Marquette Legion, 9:30 a.m., Russell; Rockford vs. Copper Country, 10:30 a.m., Olson; Traverse City vs. Calumet, 11:30 a.m., Russell

10U -- Marquette APT vs. Little Caesars, 12:30 p.m., Olson; Iron Range vs. Appleton, 1:30 p.m., Russell; Calumet vs. Traverse City, 2 p.m., Olson

12U -- Mqt. Sup. Hockey vs. Orchard Lake, 3 p.m., Russell; Calumet vs. Traverse City, 3:30 p.m., Olson; Fox Valley vs. Saginaw, 4:30 p.m., Russell

14U -- Marquette Legion vs. Rockford, 5:30 p.m., Olson; Copper Country vs. Traverse City, 6 p.m., Russell; Calumet vs. Saginaw, 7:30 p.m., Olson

10U -- 1st vs. 4th place, 8 p.m., Russell; 2nd vs. 3rd place, 9:30 p.m., Russell

Sunday

12U -- 1st vs. 4th place, 7 a.m., Olson; 2nd vs. 3rd place, 7:30 a.m., Russell

14U -- 1st vs. 4th place, 8:30 a.m., Olson; 2nd vs. 3rd place, 9 a.m., Russell

10U -- Championship, 11 a.m., Russell

12U -- Championship, 1 p.m., Russell

14U -- Championship, 3 p.m., Russell

Story contents based on an email from and phone interview with Marquette Junior Hockey representative Jon Nebel. Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee's email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.