KALKASKA — Minor-league hockey is coming back to Traverse City. For one weekend, at least.
The Kalkaska Kings semi-pro team of the Michigan Independence Hockey League is playing its home playoff games at Centre Ice Arena after the Kaliseum in Kalkaska pulled up its ice for the summer.
The Kings host the Saint Ignace Saints this Saturday and Sunday at Centre Ice, with both games starting at 7 p.m.
“They’re the only team that’s beaten us twice,” Kings head coach Cam Fisher said. “We did alright against them.”
The Kings (21-3-1) closed out the regular season winning 10 in a row and won five of seven matchups with the Saints, including the last four by a combined 22-5 margin.
The Saints finished the regular season 12-13-0, a distant second in the MIHL North with 24 points to Kalkaska’s 43. Alpena was third at 5-20-1. St. Ignace swept Alpena 5-3 and 4-1 in the opening round of playoffs. If the series goes to a deciding third game, that would be played April 25 in St. Ignace.
The Waterford Sharks won the South division at 18-6-1 (37 points), followed by the Michigan Shadow (17-8-0) and Muskegon Voyagers (15-10-0). The Shadow won its best-of-three with Muskegon 2-1 and faces Waterford this weekend in the other semifinal series.
If both semifinal series end in sweeps, the finals would move up to next weekend, with the Kings having home-ice advantage in three of five games if they move on by virtue of having the league’s best record. Games 1 and 2 would be in Traverse City, as well as Game 5 if needed.
Playoff game tickets are $10, with children accompanied by adults getting in for free.
“We haven’t had anyone come out that hasn’t experience this kind of hockey and not like it,” said assistant coach Tyler Thirlby, a former Traverse City West standout. “It’s pretty entertaining.”
The league allows fighting, and Duffing leads the league in penalty minutes with 116 in 21 games.
“The last time we had this kind of semi-pro hockey in Traverse City was the Hounds,” Fisher said.
Fisher and Thirlby have committed to returning next season as coaches.
“When you get the right coach and guys and you have a coach you can trust, the amount of talent you can assemble is unreal,” Thirlby said. “He’s a good hockey player, but he’s also one of the smartest hockey people I’ve ever met in my life.”
A Traverse City native, Fisher was in travel hockey before before playing for the Sarnia Sting in the Ontario Hockey League and the Traverse City Hounds in the United States Premier Hockey League, which also had a team in Kalkaska (the Rhinos).
The Northern Michigan Warhounds — based in Gaylord — join the Motor City Muskies and Findlay Force in new additions to the league next season, bringing its membership to nine squads, with several other franchises applying to round out the league at 10 for 2026-27.
The Kings are loaded with players with backgrounds in local hockey.
Grant LaFaive and Nick Martin played at Traverse City West, Vincent Dean, Gavin Duffing, Hayden Thomas and Nick Brewer for the Bay Reps and Brock Taylor from Cadillac. Several players were on the old Kalkaska Battlers — a franchise that turned into the Northern Michigan Warhounds — such as Cam Hofstetter, as well as former Rhinos players like Sean Schirripa. Kalkaska native Hayden Lance and Traverse City’s Marc Thompson are also on the team.
Dean leads the Kings with 63 points in 25 games, scoring 25 goals. Schirripa put up 48 points (23 goals), Thocker 33, Martin 31 and Hofstetter, Taylor and Brewer each produced 30-point seasons. Everett Bailey (12-3, 2.84 GAA, .881 save %) and Daniel Klaybor (6-0, 3.19, .887) split time in goal.
Kalkaska scored an average of 8.5 goals a game, producing massive output early against two teams that folded midseason, the Cheboygan Wendigo and Detroit Warhawks. The Kings beat Cheboygan 22-0 and 14-2 and Detroit 18-0 and 10-0.
“The future looks good with the change of ownership over the offseason and some front office changes,” Fisher said. “The future looks good. Even though this season was successful, next year looks even better.”