MARQUETTE, Mich. (WLUC) – Saturday night, the Detroit Red Wings legends faced off against Yoopers for a great cause.
The third annual Marquette County Hockey Night is a fundraiser for the United Way of Marquette County. The event is held at NMU’s Barry Events Center.
Prior to puck drop, there was a tailgate outside of the Barry. Yoopers United forward Neeco Belanger talked about his preparation for the game.
“Yeah, I’ve been doing stairs every day,” Belanger said, before a slight pause. “Uh, no, I haven’t been doing stairs.”
Belanger says Yoopers United built chemistry by helping out in the community.
“Not so much practicing anymore at our ages but most of us skate anyway all through the week, so, not too much rust to shake off,” said Belanger.
Former NHL player and NMU alumni, Justin Florek, has suited up for Yoopers United each of the last three years.
“A lot of us played for Marquette Junior Hockey so for us to give back to the community, help the United Way and get to play against the Wings alumni, it’s pretty special,” said Florek.
He says the Red Wings alumni love playing in this game.
“A lot of them have never been up to the U.P. but when they come up here, they have a great time,” said Florek. “Talking to them after, they just love the community, how many people come to the games. They play a lot of these, and they say this is the best one by far. So, it’s really cool to hear that from those guys and hear that they want to come back.”
The previous two games featured a tie and a win for the Red Wings alumni. Neeco and his little brother, Wolff, were confident this would be the Yoopers’ year.
“I’m thinking a big win for us this year,” said Wolff Belanger. “We got some pretty good local talent and, I think the Red Wings are going to be a little bit older this year, so I think we can take them.”
“My ‘Neec’s Peeks,’ us, we take this thing, 7-5, with an empty net goal,” said Neeco. “I think Kocur, him and I are going at it, so, I’m coming for you Kocur.”
The evening also featured a sled hockey game with the U.P. Sled Cats.
The video above will feature the TV6 livestream until staff can clip the corresponding story, if available, from broadcasts or other TV6 content. You can subscribe to our YouTube page or download TV6+ to stream the latest local news and weather.
Copyright 2025 WLUC. All rights reserved.