[00:00:00] Fuzz Martin: Happy Tues yay! People don’t celebrate Tuesday enough. You know, it’s the most neglected day of the week. In my opinion, it’s like the Gen X of days. And you might even be listening to this on a Wednesday or a Thursday because, you know, it’s a podcast. You might be neglecting Tuesday yourself. Anywho, uh, thank you for listening to Fifteen Minutes with Fuzz.
My name is Fuzz Martin and this is a podcast about the positive things, like Tuesdays, that are happening in and around Washington County, Wisconsin. This week, Chris Marion joins And returns to the podcast from the West Bend Power Hockey Team. Last time she was on, it was called the Milwaukee Power Hockey Team, and this time it’s called the West Bend Power Hockey Team to talk about their upcoming season, their successful first season as the West Bend Power, and we’re also joined by three players, Jake Sherry, Oliver Schroeder and Monty Gould.
And with that, here are 15 minutes on the West Bend power with Chris Marion and Jake, Oliver, and Monty right here on 15 Minutes with Fuzz.
Chris, welcome back. It’s been a little while. Uh, can you, for those who are just. Tune in and maybe haven’t listened to every episode of the show, give us a refresher on what the West Bend Power is.
[00:01:28] Kris Marion: Yes, so the West Bend Power, we are a junior hockey team. Um, so junior hockey meaning young men who are in that 17 to 20 year old age gap, and they are looking to get recruited to play collegially.
[00:01:42] Fuzz Martin: Okay, so, so what, tell me about the levels. So it goes, uh, you play, like, Hockey’s got, kind of got a different track than a lot of, than a lot of different sports. It’s not
[00:01:52] Kris Marion: like your traditional sports where players go right from high school to college.
[00:01:55] Fuzz Martin: Yeah.
[00:01:55] Kris Marion: So, uh, hockey players will either play high school or triple A, and then they will move on to the junior ranks.
And there are junior teams all over the country at different levels, different cities. So junior hockey is really a big deal. Um, and that is the step before college for these players.
[00:02:10] Fuzz Martin: And then if they go to college, then they go to college, play hockey in college. And then after that, if they go on beyond that, is that then like NHL or IHL?
It depends,
[00:02:20] Kris Marion: but more, more like. Probably the minor leagues. Yeah, but it depends on the level of collegiate hockey. Our players at the NA3 level, we are looking to advance them up to the NAHL level, the level two.
[00:02:32] Fuzz Martin: Okay.
[00:02:32] Kris Marion: Or eventually get them a college opportunity at the division three level.
[00:02:36] Fuzz Martin: Okay, so you are the NA3HL.
Correct. Can you tell us about that league, how, there, it’s, is it a nationwide league?
[00:02:42] Kris Marion: It is, it’s all over the country. There’s different divisions. We play in the central division.
[00:02:47] Fuzz Martin: Okay.
[00:02:47] Kris Marion: Here, so the teams in our division are West Bend. Obviously. Yeah. Toma. St. Louis, Missouri, Peoria, Illinois, Wausau, Wisconsin, and then Rochester, Minnesota.
[00:02:59] Fuzz Martin: Okay.
[00:03:00] Kris Marion: And then this year we will play Mason City, Iowa, and Alexandria, Minnesota. So kind of located centrally, but there’s also divisions out west, down south, out east. So there’s leagues all over. We play in the Central Division here.
[00:03:12] Fuzz Martin: And then when you get to the playoffs, then you start to play across those divisions.
Correct. That is
[00:03:16] Kris Marion: our ultimate goal is to get to the Frazier Cup at the end of the season. We also do have a league showcase in Minneapolis in December where all of the teams across the country come and play each other. So that’s a really fun event as well.
[00:03:27] Fuzz Martin: Sure. And last year you guys made it to the Frazier Cup.
We did.
[00:03:29] Kris Marion: We did. We made it to the Frazier Cup this year. Our goal is to get a little farther than we did last year at that tournament. But that is the first time in franchise history. So just backing up a little bit more, last year was actually technically our first year as the West Bend Power. Some of the people may be familiar with us.
When we came to West Bend three seasons ago, we were the Milwaukee Power. Mm hmm. The previous ownership group, we started down in Milwaukee when the franchise began, transitioned over to West Bend, and last year, actually, we were purchased. The team was up for sale, and we were purchased by the local West Bend Power.
Owners now, and so we flipped our brand, uh, our colors, and officially our West Bend Power now. So this will be our second season as the West Bend Power.
[00:04:09] Fuzz Martin: And you play at the Kettle Moraine
[00:04:11] Kris Marion: Center, which is on Main Street, correct? Very easy to get to.
[00:04:14] Fuzz Martin: Mm hmm.
[00:04:14] Kris Marion: Yeah.
[00:04:14] Fuzz Martin: And it holds a few hundred people, right? Oh,
[00:04:16] Kris Marion: a few thousand.
A few thousand. Actually, no, our capacity is about twelve hundred. Twelve hundred, okay. Um, and the rink, and I will tell you, at our playoff games last year, we were definitely better. Bursting at the seams like that. Yeah. So we have, we have a really good loyal fan base. Um, the games are a lot of fun. Um, we kind of bring that minor league feel, um, right here in West Bend.
So you don’t have to travel to Milwaukee to get to an Admiral game. You can come and enjoy that fun night out with your family here in West Bend.
[00:04:40] Fuzz Martin: Excellent. And your job is the business operations manager. So what do you do in that role? What’s your, what’s your position here?
[00:04:46] Kris Marion: Basically anything that the coaches don’t do.
We have a hockey operations staff. So their job is to. Coach these guys, recruit them, get them here and win games and ultimately get them to the Frazier Cup. That’s their on ice job. So anything off ice I manage, which is basically, you know, our game day staff. Game day is a really big part of what we do.
Um, tickets, sponsorships, we obviously, like any other sports team, we need that, you know, that backing. So sponsorships, tickets. Um. I manage all of our community engagement and community involvement. Our team is very, very involved in the community. Our players, um, give back and that’s part of kind of the, kind of our culture and who we are is giving back to our community.
So I oversee a lot of that. So all the stuff that doesn’t involve coaching these guys.
[00:05:27] Fuzz Martin: Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And the season’s underway right now. So as we’re recording this, Uh, not as this comes out, but you’ve got a game coming up this weekend at home, right? We do. This weekend
[00:05:35] Kris Marion: is our home opener. Yep. We have a couple games under our belt.
So, we started out on the road. We kick off at home this weekend, 27th, 28th. And then we have a very loaded, uh, home schedule. Okay. So, September, October, November, we’re home, I think, just about every weekend. So, all of our games can be found on our website, westbendhockey. com. Um. And, uh, like I said, 22 home games, and 22 away, plus our league showcase, and then ultimately, we hope the Frazier Cup.
[00:06:03] Fuzz Martin: Sure. And you guys, like you said, you guys have been a big part of the community. How’s the West Bend community been back to the West Bend power? Fantastic.
[00:06:11] Kris Marion: Fantastic. And it shows. I mean, if you look at other Tier 3 teams, um, You know, they aren’t packing the stands like we are. And that says a lot about our community.
They’ve really bought in. And we actually come up, we’ve come up with the tagline, our team, our town, because that is so true. I mean, this is your town and our, your team here in the, in West Bend. And, and giving back is very important to us because of the support we receive.
[00:06:33] Fuzz Martin: Excellent. So speaking of the team.
We’ve got three players with us today. Jake, Oliver, and Monty. Good morning, gentlemen. Welcome to Fifteen Minutes with Fuzz. Could you guys please introduce yourselves?
[00:06:44] Jake Sherry: Hi, my name’s Jake Sherry. Thank you for, uh, letting me come on. I want to thank you and thank my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, because you guys have invited me on and that’s awesome, so.
Yeah, thanks for coming on.
[00:06:54] Oliver Schroeder: Uh, I’m Oliver Schroeder. Happy to be here. Yeah, nice to meet you.
[00:06:58] Monte Gould: Uh, I’m Monty Gould, uh, Billett Brothers with Oliver. Excellent.
[00:07:02] Fuzz Martin: So, can you guys, uh, tell us, uh, your positions and where you’re from?
[00:07:07] Monte Gould: Uh, I’m Monty. Again, I play defense and I’m from Hayward, Wisconsin.
[00:07:11] Oliver Schroeder: Oliver, play defense and from Hudson, Wisconsin.
[00:07:14] Jake Sherry: Jake, I am a forward and I’m from Mesa, Arizona.
[00:07:18] Fuzz Martin: So, you guys are, obviously, we were talking about how that kind of, you come up through the ranks in, in this and, you know, kind of play and. Club leagues and high school and now junior and and hoping to get into college hockey Where did each of you guys play before you came to the West Bend power and then kind of also piggybacking on that?
What’s what’s your next step goal? Like where do you guys want to get to?
[00:07:43] Jake Sherry: I previously played for the El Paso Rhinos They’re another NA3 team. Okay, and Prior to that, I played for the Texas Roadrunners. And, uh, the goal is obviously college, the highest level we can get at, the most amount of, like, yeah, just the highest level we can go to.
[00:07:59] Oliver Schroeder: I previously played for Hudson, uh, a couple different AAA teams. Also, yeah, just growing up, played for my hometown, and then ended up getting recruited to come here, and This is my second year here.
[00:08:13] Monte Gould: Uh, I just grew up playing high school hockey in Hayward, and then when that wasn’t going on, just AAA in the fall and the spring and different travel teams.
This is my second year.
[00:08:22] Fuzz Martin: Two of you guys played on the Frazier Cup playoff team, right, last year. What was that experience like for you guys? I mean, obviously, any level of any sport, obviously, when you make it to the playoffs, it’s, uh, it’s a lot of fun and high energy, but what was that like making it to the Frazier Cup?
[00:08:37] Monte Gould: Yeah, it was great. It was great being part of that, just brotherhood. It Created a good bond between the guys and it was just a great time.
[00:08:44] Oliver Schroeder: Yeah.
Uh, piggybacking off of that. Um, just. Like compared to high school, like from going from the state championships in high school, compared to the Fraser Cup, it was a lot different.
Like it was a lot more intense and obviously better hockey. Like we got better players. They’re older, faster, stronger. Sure. It was definitely a surreal experience and a place I want to get back to this year.
[00:09:06] Fuzz Martin: Earlier you had mentioned being Billet brothers. Can you explain for people who aren’t in hockey, what Billet brothers means?
[00:09:11] Oliver Schroeder: Yeah. So obviously we’re not from around here. So, um, we get recruited to come play here and then the team. We end up taking like this super long survey. I think it was 12 to 15 pages at least. It
[00:09:23] Kris Marion: wasn’t quite that long.
[00:09:25] Oliver Schroeder: It
[00:09:25] Fuzz Martin: felt
[00:09:25] Oliver Schroeder: like it for sure. But, um, you take the survey and you go basically over your whole life, like what you do when you eat and, uh, The team matches you up like a fam, with a family that kind of lives the same way with you.
So they’re basically a matchmaker with you. And then, um, depending on the family, it could be one guy, it could be four, it just depends on how much room they have. So Amanti and I ended up getting placed in the same spot. If you go back and look. On our thing, it asked if, like, we knew anyone from the team, and I said I knew Monty, because we previously played on a couple of travel teams, but okay, apparently he forgot who I was, even though we played on the same line, but it happens.
[00:10:08] Monte Gould: I was at dinner with my family, and I had to get it done quick, so I just filled out the answers, and I didn’t even think to put. Ollie Doan. So he just makes a big deal out of it. Yeah.
[00:10:22] Fuzz Martin: Uh, well, um, well now you guys know each other for sure. Right. Basically it’s like, uh, almost becoming an exchange student with the family for, uh, for a season.
That’s what most
[00:10:32] Kris Marion: people can relate it to. Um, host families. Um, you know, Northwinds Baseball Leagues do that as well. But it’s any, any of our out of area players, they need a place to live when they, when they’re playing for the season. So we have some really, really, really great Billet families. day. And they open up their homes and let the boys live there.
And, uh, basically they become part of the family.
[00:10:51] Fuzz Martin: And Kris you’re always looking for Billet families.
[00:10:52] Kris Marion: Always looking for Billet families because we do have a lot of movement. Junior hockey is a very fluid team throughout the season. So players are coming and going. So we’re always looking for Billet families.
Uh, Billet families get in free to all the games and they also receive a stipend, so they do get some money to help offset some of those grocery bills that these boys, uh, rack up. But, um, it’s a really, really fantastic experience, but really it’s the, it’s about the bond and it’s about becoming part of that.
[00:11:16] Fuzz Martin: It’s a 20 year old hockey players eat a lot or
[00:11:19] Kris Marion: yeah, two of them in one house. Yeah,
[00:11:25] Fuzz Martin: very good. Um, so obviously this is a challenging sport and you guys are all in, you know, out there putting in the work and paying your dues. What, what keeps you motivated to keep getting out on the ice every day?
[00:11:39] Jake Sherry: I would say my family is a big motivator.
My faith, that’s probably, those are definitely the biggest two. I mean, going and playing for someone bigger than yourself, that’s obviously a heavy motivator, and it’s what keeps me going. Very good.
[00:11:54] Monte Gould: Yeah, definitely my family, uh, just The thought of playing at the Kettle Marine Ice Center in front of our home crowd, there’s so much energy in that rink and it’s just such a great game.
[00:12:04] Oliver Schroeder: Yeah, definitely my family, like, obviously we’re playing for the name on the front of our jersey, like that’s who we play for, but we’re also playing for the name on the back. For me, like this is the first person in our family that kind of going off and doing something like this. Like I’ve had other cousins go and play college sports, but I mean, I feel like I’m really taking it to it.
And then also just the love of the game, like you can’t get enough of it. There’ll be times in the off season where you’re sitting at home and you’re just itching to get back on the ice. Uh,
[00:12:35] Fuzz Martin: so, if there are young players maybe listening that are, you know, that want to do what you’re doing someday, what kind of advice could you give to those who want to play at your level and hire someday?
[00:12:47] Jake Sherry: Just keep going. Like, there’s always going to be a reason to quit. There’s always going to be, like, something that’s in your way, but if you keep going and keep pursuing, you’ll eventually reap what you’re sowing. So, keep working hard, keep going.
[00:13:00] Fuzz Martin: Very
[00:13:01] Jake Sherry: good.
[00:13:01] Fuzz Martin: Kris? How does the West Bend Power team and management help foster a positive environment for the players here and keep the balance of hockey and personal lives and keep them going?
[00:13:14] Kris Marion: It is a grind. I will say it’s fun. It’s a fun experience. It is for the fans to come and experience that, you know, that Friday and Saturday night out. We enjoy that. But these boys, it is a grind. I mean, these boys work. They are here. This is their job for one, two or three years, depending on their age level.
And they are very disciplined and we, you know, we preach that. They are at the rink very early every morning. Uh, they start off with, you know, getting prepped to go on the ice. They’re on the ice for an hour and a half and then they do, um, you know, video. They do off ice conditioning. Um, and then most of them will go on and work somewhere part time and or take some part time classes.
So they have a very structured schedule. Um, again, part of that is being out in the community. We have an event this week. you know, we try to keep ourselves active and volunteering and that’s kind of fostering, again, that culture of giving back to our community. So not only Uh, that part of it, but the discipline, you know, work hard, play hard, have fun, but, but really, um, you know, it is a grind.
It’s a long season and just, you know, kind of keeping them motivated on a personal level as well as important for us.
[00:14:19] Fuzz Martin: Absolutely. Well, obviously you got a long season. How do you, how it goes until when, like, we go until March. So
[00:14:26] Kris Marion: it’s a regular season is September through March and then playoffs start in the second weekend in March.
And we hope we’re going all the way to the end of March this year again. Get into that Frasier Cup, but we again, we 22 home games at Kettle Moraine Ice Center, our regular season, Friday, Saturday nights, always 7. 30. We have a lot of exciting things happening. Make sure you’re following us on social media, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tik Tok, West Bend Hockey.
Because we always are announcing what we have going on before all of our home games this year, the Great Outdoor Supper Club is going to be putting out meals. Great. So if you can come right to the game and have dinner right at the game, um, bar opens at five, food starts at five, and the puck drops at 7 30.
So always fun, fun stuff going on. We have, a lot of theme nights that we’ll tie in, and then we tie in with special, groups in the area as well. You know, like a Hockey Fights Cancer Weekend, we have a Humane Society Night, we have a Mental Health Awareness Night, we have a lot of things going on, so really important to follow us on social media and keep up on everything we have going on so you don’t miss out on any of the fun.
[00:15:24] Fuzz Martin: So, uh, it’s westbendhockey. com.
[00:15:27] Kris Marion: westbendhockey. com.
[00:15:28] Fuzz Martin: is the website. You can get tickets there, the schedule. Everything become a sponsor, you got your email address on there, get in touch and uh, if you want to become a Billet family, uh, awesome. Chris, thank you so much for coming in and Jake, Oliver, Monte good luck with your season.
Great putting in the work and great meeting you guys.
[00:15:46] Kris Marion: Thanks. Thanks for having us. again
[00:15:49] Fuzz Martin: to Kris Marion, Business Operations Manager for the West Bend Power, along with Jake Sherry, Oliver Schroeder, and Monte Gould. I love Gould. Sorry. For joining me on this week’s episode of Fifteen Minutes with Fuzz, get to the Kettle Moraine Ice Center to see a game or 20 this season.
Have an idea for the show? Suggest a guest. Go to fuzzmartin. com slash guest and fill in the form. That is fuzzmartin. com slash guest. Or you can simply email me fuzz at fuzzmartin. com. New episodes are available on Spotify, YouTube, and YouTube music, Apple podcasts. And at fuzzmart. com and pretty much any other podcast player you could probably ever use.
And new episodes come out on Tuesdays because we love Tuesdays. And with that, we’ll talk to you next Tuesday, right here on Fifteen Minutes with
Fuzz.
