HOLLAND — Semi-professional hockey is coming to Holland this November.

The Holland Beacons, a semi-pro hockey team affiliated with the Michigan Independence Hockey League (MIHL), is currently preparing for the league’s inaugural 2020-21 season.

The Beacons are one of four teams in the league, including the Alpena North Stars, Muskegon Voyagers and Gaylord, whose fans will vote the team’s name.

“The opportunity kind of fell in my lap,” Beacons owner and general manager Matthew Spoelhof said. “Just knowing the right people at the right time. We’re at that point where were gathering sponsors, trying to help out the local community get their advertisements in as well as getting the team on the ice.

“We’ve got a lot of exciting prospects on our list.”

The Beacons will play at Griff’s IceHouse West in Holland and will adhere to rules similar to the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) and games will be played on Saturday nights and Sunday afternoons, with 40 games per season — 20 home games and 20 away.

Tickets for the games will range from $7 to $10 with the options to purchase a league pass that is good for any game during the season.

“The average person who works a nine-to-five or a second- or third-shift job, they can still come out and support these teams,” Spoelhof said.

Spoelhof played club hockey and has been around the sport his entire life. He grew up watching the Muskegon Fury, a former International Hockey League team.

Beacons’ vice president Tannon Miller has small business experience and said organizing the team thus far has been a dream.

“Everybody seems amazing,” Miller said. “Everybody has backgrounds where they’ve played in college, or they’ve coached juniors or the youth in some sort of way and just having been a part of hockey for a very long time.

“We’re just taking our time making sure all the steps are taken and all of our Ts are crossed.”

Spoelhof and Miller hope to give people in Holland access to hockey that they might not have had before.

“The goal initially was to bring a professional feel of hockey to smaller towns where we have tremendous talent, but there may not have been folks who have gotten a lot of attention,” Miller said. “We want to bring hockey to them as well as the fans who may not be able to drive to Detroit, Kalamazoo or Grand Rapids for a game.

“We’re bringing it to Holland so they can enjoy the pro feel and pro atmosphere.”

The Beacons hope to have a roster finalized by October in anticipation of the season’s start in November.

The registration for players is $25. Try-out dates and times will be posted on the team’s official Facebook page.

The team is still looking for local and corporate sponsors. For more information, contact the team at hollandbeacons@gmail.com or Miller at (231)-766-1151.

— Contact Assistant Sports Editor Beau Troutman at btroutman@hollandsentinel.com. Follow him on Twitter @BVTroutman.