COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — The Columbus Blue Jackets will continue to fight for a Wild Card spot Thursday when they host the Colorado Avalanche, but the team is also honoring those who fight for our freedoms. 

It is Military Appreciation Night at Nationwide Arena, a special event each year. 

The Blue Jackets truly are one of the best stories in hockey this season — and one of the biggest moments of the year was of course the Stadium Series game. The club made history that night in the Horseshoe, but also, with the help of a group of airmen, they made history in the sky as well. 

It was only a month ago that the Blue Jackets took the ice inside Ohio Stadium in the club’s first-ever outdoor game, and the first game in the ‘Shoe. 

Even before puck drop, it was a spectacle — and then, as the music swelled during the National Anthem, you could hear and feel the planes fly over the stadium as the fireworks went off. 

And in the sky, the members of the military felt it too. 

“Being that angle, you know, not everyone gets to see that, you know, from that, from the sky and especially having all lit up, it was just it was really cool,” Tech Sgt. Cameron Gibbs with the 121st Air Refueling Wing said. 

“It was just a good hometown feel,” Cpt. Jack Kincade with the 121st Air Refueling Wing said. “On a cool-meter, this was definitely a 10 out of 10.” 

“For me, it’s, it’s almost that proud parent, that proud papa moment, you know, that our airmen are up there doing this, perfectly timed, perfectly executed flyover, you know, completely in time with the national anthem. It was just really awe-inspiring,” Col. Andy Powers with the 121st Air Refueling Wing said. 

For Powers, who helped coordinate the flyover, that proud papa feeling went beyond the event in the sky. He was at the game with both of his children, who are hockey players. 

“My daughter Tori plays for Dublin Coffman on their JV team,” he said. “My son Charlie plays in the Blue Jackets Hockey League at the Dublin Chiller. I call that picture ‘The Intersection.’ It’s the intersection of my four loves — my family, the Air National Guard, Ohio State and the Blue Jackets. All in one picture.” 

Powers said that while the flyover is maybe ornamental to an event, there is a real purpose for the personnel. 

“Really, first and foremost, any time we do flyovers, we’re actually accomplishing training,” he said. “It’s great because we can showcase two great capabilities that the Ohio Air National Guard brings to both our national defense and available to the state of Ohio and the governor for domestic response and domestic emergency support.” 

Now, the Blue Jackets want to show support for the crew and thank them for their work by recognizing them on the ice during Military Appreciation Night. 

“It just shows that, you know, the thanks is still extended past the flyover, and having those opportunities is really awesome,” Kincade said. 

“Be absolutely fantastic to the, really let the community see these amazing airmen that make everything here happen,” Powers said.