West Bend Power Hockey with Kris Marion, Jake Sherry, Oliver Schroeder & Monte Gould
The West Bend Power hockey team is the focus of an engaging discussion featuring Kris Marion, the team's Business Operations Manager, and three of its players: Jake Sherry, Oliver Schroeder, and Monte Gould. Kris shares insights into the team's transition from being the Milwaukee Power to the West Bend Power, highlighting the positive impact of local ownership and community support. This episode dives into the structure of junior hockey leagues, explaining how these young athletes, aged 17 to 20, are preparing for potential collegiate careers and beyond. The conversation also covers the rigorous demands of junior hockey, from daily practices and games to balancing personal lives and community involvement. Each player shares personal motivations and aspirations, providing a window into the dedication required to pursue hockey at this level. Kris discusses the importance of community engagement and the role of billet families in supporting out-of-town players, emphasizing the strong bonds formed between players and their host families.
Takeaways:
- The West Bend Power hockey team is a junior league team based in Wisconsin that provides young players an opportunity to advance to collegiate hockey.
- The team, formerly known as the Milwaukee Power, moved to West Bend and is now owned by local proprietors, emphasizing community involvement.
- Junior hockey serves as a crucial stepping stone for players aged 17 to 20 who aspire to play at the collegiate level and potentially beyond.
- The team fosters a strong sense of community and engagement, with players actively participating in local events and volunteer activities.
- Billet families play a vital role in supporting the players by providing them with a home away from home during the hockey season.
- The West Bend Power's games are a significant local event, bringing a minor league atmosphere to the community with a dedicated fan base.
Links referenced in this episode:
Transcript
Happy Tuesday.
Fuzz Martin:People don't celebrate Tuesday enough, you know?
Fuzz Martin:It's the most neglected day of the week, in my opinion.
Fuzz Martin:It's like the Gen X of days.
Fuzz Martin:And you might even be listening to this on a Wednesday or a Thursday because, you know, it's a podcast.
Fuzz Martin:You might be neglecting Tuesday yourself.
Fuzz Martin:Anywho, thank you for listening to 15 minutes with fuzz.
Fuzz Martin: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.
Fuzz Martin:This week, Chris Marion joins and returns to the podcast from the West Bend power hockey team.
Fuzz Martin:Last time she was on, it was called the Milwaukee power hockey team.
Fuzz Martin: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.
Fuzz Martin:And we're also joined by three players, Jake, Sherry, Oliver Schroeder and Monte Gould.
Fuzz Martin: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.
Fuzz Martin:All right, Chris, welcome back.
Chris Marion:It's been a little while.
Chris Marion:Can you, for those who are just tuning in and maybe haven't listened to every episode of the show, give us a refresher on what the West Bend power is?
Unknown Hockey Player A:Zachary?
Unknown Hockey Player A:Yes, so the West Bend power, we are a junior hockey team.
Unknown Hockey Player A: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 pick collegiately.
Chris Marion:Okay, so tell me about the levels.
Chris Marion:So it goes, you play like, hockey's got kind of got a different track than a lot of different sports.
Unknown Hockey Player A:It's not like your traditional sports, where players go right from high school to college.
Chris Marion:Yeah.
Unknown Hockey Player A:So hockey players will either play high school or triple a, and then they will move on to the junior ranks.
Unknown Hockey Player A:And there are junior teams all over the country at different levels, different cities.
Unknown Hockey Player A:So junior hockey is really a big deal.
Unknown Hockey Player A:And that is the step before college for these players.
Chris Marion:And then if they go to college, then go to college, play hockey in college, and then after that, if they go on beyond that, is that then like NHL or IHL?
Unknown Hockey Player A:More.
Unknown Hockey Player A:More like probably the minor leagues.
Chris Marion:Okay.
Unknown Hockey Player A:Yeah.
Unknown Hockey Player A:But it depends on the level of collegiate hockey.
Unknown Hockey Player A:Our.
Unknown Hockey Player A:Our players at the NA three level, we are looking to advance them up to the NAHL level, the level two.
Chris Marion:Okay.
Unknown Hockey Player A:Or eventually get them a college opportunity at the division three level.
Chris Marion:Okay.
Chris Marion:So you are the Na three hl.
Chris Marion:Can you tell us about that league, how there it's.
Chris Marion:Is it a nationwide league?
Unknown Hockey Player A:It is.
Unknown Hockey Player A:It's it's all over the country.
Unknown Hockey Player A:There's different divisions.
Unknown Hockey Player A:We play in the central division.
Chris Marion:Okay.
Unknown Hockey Player A:So the teams in our division are West Bend, obviously.
Unknown Hockey Player A:Toma, St.
Unknown Hockey Player A:Louis, Missouri, Peoria, Illinois, Wausau, Wisconsin, and then Rochester, Minnesota.
Chris Marion:Okay.
Unknown Hockey Player A:And then this year we will play Mason City, Iowa, and Alexandria, Minnesota.
Unknown Hockey Player A:So kind of located centrally.
Unknown Hockey Player A:But there's also divisions out west, down south, out east.
Unknown Hockey Player A:So there's leagues all over.
Unknown Hockey Player A:We play in the central division here.
Chris Marion:And then when you get to the playoffs, then you start to play across the division.
Unknown Hockey Player A:Correct.
Unknown Hockey Player A:That is our ultimate goal, is to get to the Fraser cup at the end of the season.
Unknown Hockey Player A:We also do have a league showcase in Minneapolis in December where all of the teams across the country come and play each other.
Unknown Hockey Player A:So that's a really fun event as well.
Chris Marion:Sure.
Chris Marion:And last year, you guys made it to the Fraser cup.
Unknown Hockey Player A:We did.
Unknown Hockey Player A:We did.
Unknown Hockey Player A:We made it to the Fraser 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.
Unknown Hockey Player A:So just backing up a little bit more.
Unknown Hockey Player A:Last year was actually technically our first year as the West Bend power.
Chris Marion:Right.
Unknown Hockey Player A:Some of people may be familiar with us.
Unknown Hockey Player A:When we came to West Bend three seasons ago, we were the Milwaukee power.
Unknown Hockey Player A:The previous ownership group.
Unknown Hockey Player A:We started down in Milwaukee.
Unknown Hockey Player A:Milwaukee, when the franchise began, transitioned over to West Bend.
Unknown Hockey Player A:And last year, actually, we were purchased, the team was up for sale, and we were purchased by local west bend owners now.
Unknown Hockey Player A:And so we.
Unknown Hockey Player A:We flipped our brand, our colors, and officially, our West Bend power now.
Unknown Hockey Player A:So this will be our second season as the West Bend power.
Chris Marion:And you play at the kettlemarine ice.
Unknown Hockey Player A:Kettlemarine ice center, which is on Main street, correct.
Unknown Hockey Player A:Very easy to get to.
Fuzz Martin:Yeah.
Chris Marion:And it holds a few hundred people, right?
Unknown Hockey Player A:Oh, a few thousand, actually, no.
Unknown Hockey Player A: Our capacity is about: Chris Marion:Okay.
Unknown Hockey Player A:In the rink.
Unknown Hockey Player A:And I will tell you, at our playoff games last year, we were definitely bursting at the season.
Chris Marion:Oh, excellent.
Unknown Hockey Player A:Yeah.
Unknown Hockey Player A:So we have a really good, loyal fan base.
Unknown Hockey Player A:The games are a lot of fun.
Unknown Hockey Player A:We kind of bring that minor league feel right here in West Bend, so you don't have to travel to Milwaukee to get to an admiral game.
Unknown Hockey Player A:You can come and enjoy that fun night out with your family here in West Bend.
Chris Marion:Excellent.
Chris Marion:And your job is the business operations manager.
Chris Marion:So what do you do in that role?
Chris Marion:What's your.
Chris Marion:What's your position here?
Unknown Hockey Player A:Basically anything that the coaches don't do.
Unknown Hockey Player A: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 Fraser cup.
Unknown Hockey Player A:That's their on ice job.
Unknown Hockey Player A:So anything off ice I manage, which is basically, you know, our game day staff.
Unknown Hockey Player A:Game day is a really big part of what we do.
Unknown Hockey Player A:Tickets, sponsorships, we obviously like any other sports team, we need that, you know, that backing.
Unknown Hockey Player A:So sponsorships, tickets, I manage all of our community engagement and community involvement.
Unknown Hockey Player A:Our team is very, very involved in the community.
Unknown Hockey Player A:Our players give back and that's part of kind of our culture and who we are is giving back to our community.
Unknown Hockey Player A:So I oversee a lot of that.
Unknown Hockey Player A:So all the stuff that doesn't involve coaching these guys.
Chris Marion:Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
Chris Marion:And the season's underway right now.
Chris Marion:So as we're recording this, not as this comes out, but you've got a game coming up this weekend.
Chris Marion:We do.
Unknown Hockey Player A:This weekend is our home opener.
Unknown Hockey Player A:Yep.
Chris Marion: th,: Unknown Hockey Player A:Couple games under our belt.
Unknown Hockey Player A:So we started out on the road.
Unknown Hockey Player A:We kick off at home this weekend 27th, 28th and then we have a very front loaded home schedule.
Chris Marion:Okay.
Unknown Hockey Player A:So September, October, November, we're home, I think just about every weekend.
Unknown Hockey Player A:So all of our games can be found on our website, westbendhockey.com.
Unknown Hockey Player A:and like I said, 22 home games and 22 away, plus our league showcase.
Unknown Hockey Player A:And then ultimately we hope the Fraser cup.
Chris Marion:Sure.
Chris Marion:And you guys, like you said, you guys have been a big part of the community.
Chris Marion:How's the West Bend community been back to the western power?
Unknown Hockey Player A:Fantastic.
Unknown Hockey Player A:And it shows.
Unknown Hockey Player A:I mean, if you look at other tier three teams, you know, they aren't packing the stands like we are.
Unknown Hockey Player A:And that says a lot about our community.
Unknown Hockey Player A: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.
Unknown Hockey Player A:I mean, this is your town.
Unknown Hockey Player A:I mean our.
Unknown Hockey Player A:Your team here in the, in West Bend.
Unknown Hockey Player A:And.
Unknown Hockey Player A:And giving back is very important to us because of the support we receive.
Chris Marion:Excellent.
Chris Marion:So speaking of the team, we've got three players with us today.
Chris Marion:Jake, Oliver and Monty.
Chris Marion:Good morning, gentlemen.
Chris Marion:Welcome to 15 minutes with us.
Chris Marion:Could you guys please introduce yourselves?
Jake Sherry:Hi, my name is Jake Sherry.
Jake Sherry:Thank you for letting me.
Jake Sherry:Come on.
Jake Sherry:I want to thank you and thank my lord and savior Jesus Christ because you guys have invited me on and that's awesome.
Chris Marion:Yeah.
Chris Marion:Thanks for coming on.
Oliver Schroeder:I'm Oliver Schroeder.
Oliver Schroeder:Happy to be here.
Chris Marion:Yeah, nice to meet you.
Monty Gould:I'm monte Gould.
Monty Gould:Philip brothers with Oliver.
Chris Marion:Excellent.
Chris Marion:So can you guys tell us your positions and where you're from?
Monty Gould:I'm monty again.
Monty Gould:I play defense, and I'm from Harrod, Wisconsin.
Oliver Schroeder:Oliver played defense.
Oliver Schroeder:And from Hudson, Wisconsin.
Jake Sherry:Jake.
Jake Sherry:I am a forward and I am from Mesa, Arizona.
Chris Marion:So you guys are obviously, we were talking about how that kind of, you come up through the ranks in this and, you know, kind of play in club leagues and high school and now junior and hoping to get into college hockey.
Chris Marion:Where did each of you guys play before you came to the west bend power and then kind of also piggybacking on that.
Chris Marion:What's.
Chris Marion:What's your next step?
Chris Marion:Goal.
Chris Marion:Like, where do you guys want to get to?
Jake Sherry:I previously played for the El Paso Rhinos.
Jake Sherry:They're another Na three team.
Chris Marion:Okay.
Jake Sherry:And prior to that, I played for the Texas Roadrunners.
Chris Marion:Okay.
Jake Sherry:And the goal is obviously college.
Jake Sherry:The highest level we can get at the most amount of, like.
Jake Sherry:Yeah, just the highest level we can go to.
Oliver Schroeder:I previously played for Hudson, a couple different aaa teams also, but yeah, just growing up, played for my hometown and then ended up getting recruited to come here.
Oliver Schroeder:And it's my second year here.
Chris Marion:Great.
Monty Gould:I just grew up playing high school hockey in Hayward, and then when that wasn't going on, just triple A in the fall and the spring and different travel teams.
Monty Gould:This is my second year.
Chris Marion:Two of you guys played on the Fraser cup playoff team, right, last year.
Chris Marion:What was that experience like for you guys?
Chris Marion:I mean, obviously, any level of any sport, obviously when you make it to the playoffs, it's a lot of fun and high energy.
Chris Marion:But what was that like, making it to Fraser cup?
Monty Gould:Yeah, it was great.
Monty Gould:It was great being part of that.
Monty Gould:Just brotherhood created a good bond between the guys and it was just a great time.
Oliver Schroeder:Yeah, piggyba, piggybacking off of that.
Oliver Schroeder: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.
Oliver Schroeder:Like, it was a lot more intense and obviously better hockey.
Oliver Schroeder:Like, we got better players.
Oliver Schroeder:They're older, faster, stronger.
Chris Marion:Sure.
Oliver Schroeder:It was definitely just a real experience and a place I want to get back to this year.
Chris Marion:Earlier, you had mentioned being Billet brothers.
Chris Marion:Can you explain for people who aren't in hockey what Billet brothers means?
Oliver Schroeder:Yeah.
Oliver Schroeder:So obviously we're not from around here, so we get recruited to come play here.
Oliver Schroeder:And then the team, we end up taking like this super long survey.
Oliver Schroeder:I think it was twelve to 15 pages at least.
Unknown Hockey Player A:It wasn't quite that long.
Fuzz Martin:It felt like.
Oliver Schroeder:It felt like it for sure.
Oliver Schroeder:But you take the survey and you go basically over your whole life, like, what you do when you eat and the team matches you up like a fam with a family that kind of lives the same way with you.
Chris Marion:Okay.
Oliver Schroeder:They basically matchmaker with you.
Chris Marion:Sure.
Oliver Schroeder:And then depending on the family, it could be one guy, it could be four.
Oliver Schroeder:It just depends on how much room they have.
Oliver Schroeder:So Monty and I ended up getting placed in the same spot.
Oliver Schroeder: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.
Oliver Schroeder:Cause we previously played on a couple travel teams, but apparently he forgot who I was, even though we played on the same line.
Oliver Schroeder:But it happens.
Monty 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 Ali down.
Monty Gould:So he just makes a big deal out of it.
Chris Marion:Yeah.
Chris Marion:Well, now you guys know each other for sure, right?
Chris Marion:Basically, it's like almost becoming an exchange student with a family for a season.
Unknown Hockey Player A:That's what most people can relate it to, host families.
Unknown Hockey Player A:You know, Northwoods baseball leagues do that as well.
Unknown Hockey Player A:But it's any of our out of area players, they need a place to live when they, when they're playing for the season.
Unknown Hockey Player A:So we have some really, we have really, really great billet families, and they open up their homes and let the boys live there, and basically they become part of the family.
Chris Marion:And, Chris, you're always looking for Billet family.
Unknown Hockey Player A:Always looking for billet families, because we do have a lot of movement.
Unknown Hockey Player A:Junior hockey is a very fluid team throughout the season, so players are coming and going, so we're always looking for billet families.
Unknown Hockey Player A:Billet families get in free to all the games, and they also receive a stipend.
Unknown Hockey Player A:So they do get some money to help offset some of those grocery bills that these boys rack up.
Unknown Hockey Player A:But it's a really, really fantastic experience.
Unknown Hockey Player A:But really, it's the.
Unknown Hockey Player A:It's about the bond, and it's about becoming part of that, of that family.
Unknown Hockey Player A:It's a really cool.
Chris Marion:Do 20 year old hockey players eat a lot or.
Unknown Hockey Player A:Yeah, two of them in one house.
Unknown Hockey Player A:Yeah.
Chris Marion:Very good.
Chris Marion: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.
Chris Marion:What, what keeps you motivated to keep getting out on the ice every day and putting in the work?
Jake Sherry:I would say my family is a big motivator.
Jake Sherry:My faith, that's a probably, those are definitely the biggest two.
Jake Sherry:I mean, going and playing for someone bigger than yourself, that's obviously a heavy motivator.
Jake Sherry:And it's what keeps me going.
Chris Marion:Very good.
Monty Gould:Yeah, definitely my family.
Monty Gould:Just the thought of playing at the kettlemarine ice center in front of our home crowd, there's so much energy in that rank, and it's just such a great game.
Oliver Schroeder:Yeah, definitely my family, like, obviously, we're playing for the name on the front of our jersey.
Oliver Schroeder:Like, that's who we play for.
Chris Marion:But I.
Oliver Schroeder:We're also playing for the name on the back like this.
Oliver Schroeder:For me, like, this is the first person in our family that kind of going off and doing something like this.
Oliver Schroeder:Like, I've had other cousins go and play college sports, but, I mean, I feel like I'm really taking it to it.
Oliver Schroeder:And then also just the love of the game.
Oliver Schroeder:Like, you can't get enough of it.
Oliver Schroeder:There'll be times in the offseason where you're sitting at home and you're just itching to get back on the ice.
Chris Marion: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?
Jake Sherry:Just keep going.
Jake Sherry:Like, there's always going to be a reason to quit.
Jake Sherry:There's always going to be, like, something that's in your way.
Jake Sherry:But if you keep going and keep pursuing and you'll eventually reap what you're sowing.
Jake Sherry:So keep working hard.
Jake Sherry:Keep going.
Chris Marion:Very good.
Chris Marion:Chris.
Chris Marion:How does the Westman power team and management help foster a positive environment for the players here and.
Chris Marion:And keep the balance of hockey and the personal lives and keep them going?
Unknown Hockey Player A:It is a grind.
Unknown Hockey Player A:I will say, as fun as, as a fun experience, it is for the fans to come and experience that.
Unknown Hockey Player A:You know, that Friday and Saturday night out, we enjoy that.
Unknown Hockey Player A:But these boys, it is a grind.
Unknown Hockey Player A:I mean, these boys work.
Unknown Hockey Player A:They are here.
Unknown Hockey Player A:This is their job for one, two or three years, depending on their age level.
Unknown Hockey Player A:And they are very disciplined, and we preach that.
Unknown Hockey Player A:They are at the rink very early every morning.
Unknown Hockey Player A:They start off with getting prepped to go on the ice.
Unknown Hockey Player A:They're on the ice for an hour and a half, and then they do video, they do off ice conditioning, and then most of them will go on and work somewhere part time and, or take some part time classes.
Unknown Hockey Player A:So they have a very structured schedule.
Unknown Hockey Player A:Again, part of that is being out in the community.
Unknown Hockey Player A:We have an event this week.
Unknown Hockey Player A:We try to keep.
Unknown Hockey Player A:Keep ourselves active and volunteering, and that's kind of fostering, again that culture of giving back to our community.
Unknown Hockey Player A:So not only that, part of it, but the discipline, you know, work hard, play hard, have fun.
Unknown Hockey Player A:But.
Unknown Hockey Player A:But really, you know, it is a grind.
Unknown Hockey Player A:It's a long season and just, you know, kind of keeping them motivated on a personal level as well is important for us.
Chris Marion:Absolutely.
Chris Marion:Well, obviously you got a long season ahead of you.
Chris Marion:How it goes until when?
Unknown Hockey Player A:Like we go till March.
Unknown Hockey Player A:Regular season is September through March and then playoffs start at the second weekend in March.
Unknown Hockey Player A:And we hope we're going all the way to the end of March this year again getting to that Fraser cup.
Unknown Hockey Player A:But we again, we 22 home games at Kettlemarie.
Unknown Hockey Player A:Nice center.
Unknown Hockey Player A:Our regular season Friday, Saturday nights always 730.
Unknown Hockey Player A:We have a lot of exciting things happening.
Unknown Hockey Player A:Make sure you're following us on social media, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tick Tock west bed hockey because we always are announcing what we have going on before all of our home games.
Unknown Hockey Player A:This year the great outdoor supper club is going to be putting out meals.
Chris Marion:Great.
Unknown Hockey Player A:So if you can come right to the game and have dinner right at the game.
Unknown Hockey Player A:Bar opens at five, food starts at five and the puck drops at 730.
Unknown Hockey Player A:So always fun, fun stuff going on.
Unknown Hockey Player A:We have a lot of theme nights that will tie in and then we tie in with special groups in the area as well.
Unknown Hockey Player A:You know, like a hockey fights cancer weekend.
Unknown Hockey Player A:We have a humane society night, we have a mental health awareness night.
Unknown Hockey Player A:We have a lot of things going on.
Unknown Hockey Player A: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.
Chris Marion:Sure.
Chris Marion:So it's West Bend hockey.com.
Unknown Hockey Player A:Westbend hockey.com is the website.
Chris Marion:You can get tickets there.
Chris Marion:The schedule becomes a sponsor.
Chris Marion:You got your email address on there.
Chris Marion:Get in touch and if you want to become a billet family, awesome.
Chris Marion:Chris, thank you so much for coming in.
Chris Marion:And Jake, Oliver, monty, good luck with your season.
Chris Marion:Great putting in the work and great meeting you guys.
Unknown Hockey Player A:Thanks for having us.
Fuzz Martin:Thank you again to Chris Marion, business operations manager for the West Bend Power, along with Jake, Sherry, Oliver, Schroeder and Monty Gould.
Chris Marion:I love Gould.
Fuzz Martin:I'm sorry for joining me on this week's episode of 15 Minutes with Fuzz.
Fuzz Martin:Get to the Kettlemarine Ice center to see a game or 20 this season of the West Bend power.
Fuzz Martin:Have an idea for the show?
Fuzz Martin:Suggest a guest.
Fuzz Martin:Go to fuzmartin.com guest and fill in the form that is fuzzmartin.com guest or you can simply email me fuzzmartin.com dot.
Fuzz Martin:New episodes are available on Spotify, YouTube and YouTube music, Apple Podcasts and@Fuzmartin.com and pretty much any other podcast player you could probably ever use.
Fuzz Martin:And new episodes come out on Tuesdays.
Chris Marion:Because we love Tuesdays.
Fuzz Martin:And with that, we'll talk to you next Tuesday right here on 15 Minutes with Fuzz.
