Fighting Yoopers

Kris Maxon prepares for the Ironwood Fighting Yoopers' opening game Friday evening at the Pat O'Donnell Civic Center. The Yoopers got their first taste of Minnesota Junior Hockey League action as they hosted the Rochester (Minn.) Ice Hawks. Maxon, 19, a Munising High School graduate, played house league hockey out of the Alger Centennial Arena in Munising, as his high school didn't have a team. He's a 5-8, 170-pound center on the Yoopers' 18-man roster of 18- to 21-year-olds. Ironwood and Rochester face off again tonight at 7:30 and on Sunday at 3 p.m.