The moment you walk up to the Calumet Colosseum, you know you’re somewhere special. The world’s oldest still-in-use indoor ice arena gives that vibe.
 
The vast history of the building is all encompassing for first-time visitors, and those that have known it their whole lives. Championships, professional hockey relics, sweat, tears, joy, pain and countless more emotions can be felt as you walk through the arena’s warming area.
 
Hours before the game you‘ll walk into the rink, and see a completely empty sheet of ice. While you soak in the moment, two things become immediately obvious:
- The brisk air means business.
- The championships won in this building are colossal.
 
Legendary hockey players stepped foot on this ice. They earned the banners on the walls. They earned the scars on their faces. The earned the stories they tell.
 
For more than a century residents of Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula have streamed into this barn to watch those stories unfold. Bruce Coppo, Jim Crawford, Rod Paavola, Bob Rangus and the names go on and on. These are legends that earned their title on this ice.
 
Even though we’re still hours out from tonight’s game, you’ll notice blankets sprawled throughout the arena. Veteran fans spread these like flags marking the spot their family has owned on the bleachers for generations.
 
After marking your spot for the night’s clash, you’ll want to enjoy historic Calumet’s lively restaurant and bar scene, where century-old taverns will provide you with the warmth you’ll need when you come back.
 
An hour before the game the players have arrived. With game faces on, they’ll tie their skates and buckle their helmets in the same place the legends before them did. 
 
The doors upstairs finally officially open for the early bird fans. These fans arrive early to find their seats, get comfortable with their family or enjoy half-priced spirits at the Wolverines Beer Den.
 
The arena starts to buzz with a hopeful murmur as fans talk about who will score first, when the first big hit will be made, or debate if the gloves will be dropped tonight. They talk over the details of the last game. Talk about the visiting team, and what kind of challenge they’ll pose for their Keweenaw Boys.
 
Apparel is for sale, 50-50 tickets are going out to nearly every fan that walks in, and the concession stand is steadily slinging hot coffee and Mountain Dew to excited fans.
 
After the teams complete warm ups the rink truly starts to fill. Fans stream in from seemingly all directions to find the blankets they laid down earlier in the day, or the spot in the bleachers they know is the best to watch the action. From Cope (pronounced Ko – Pee) Corner to Marco’s overhang, the anticipation builds. 
 
There is no light show. No smoke. No skating bears or video scoreboard. That’s not what fans came to see tonight.
 
These fans are here to watch hockey. Every Yooper in the building, from the 6-month-old daughter of the Wolverines defensemen, to the 92-year-old rink rat that dawned Wolverines Blue yesteryear, is here for the same reason they’ve been here since 1903.
 
 The Wolverines are playing. It’s hockey night in Calumet.
 
The puck drops. The tradition lives in another night.