Published: March 25, 2016
NOT GETTING THROUGH
West Bend Bombers’ goalies are GLHL’s best
By NICHOLAS DETTMANN
Daily News
It’s easier to work through any frustration or doubt if
you’re winning.
Bill Sias and Peter Wisnieff have helped the West Bend
Bombers do a lot of that this season.
Sias and Wisnieff finished 1-2 in the Great Lakes Hockey
League’s goaltending leaders in goals-against-average, save percentage and
shutouts.
“Our goaltending has been great,” Bombers player/coach Scott
Holtz said.
Sias and Wisnieff put up those numbers during a continuing
rededication shift within the franchise. And when you talk about Sias and
Wisnieff, you could make the case they’re the most dedicated players on the
team.
After all, they commute at least twice a week for practices
and games from the Chicago suburbs.
“There’s really not a word I can put in other than it’s what
drives everybody else,” Holtz said. “We have a lot of people that travel.
Myself and really only two other guys are from West Bend. We have guys coming
from Milwaukee, Cedarburg, Chicago. It’s amazing how much guys are dedicated.”
This season, Sias allowed the fewest goals in the league
(36) among goaltenders to appear in at least 10 games. Wisnieff was second in
that category with 41.
The team’s third goaltender, Steve Bremer, isn’t a slouch,
either. He played in five games this season and had a 2-0 record with a 3.92
GAA.
Sias and Wisnieff have been good since Day 1.
The Bombers are 39-6 with Sias or Wisnieff between the pipes
since Wisnieff joined the team before the 2013-14 season after the Vernon Hills
Capitals out of Illinois folded. Sias joined a season later. They also have all
five of the Bombers’ shutouts in franchise history. Sias has four of them —
three last year.
“These guys come from Illinois,” Holtz said. “Knowing we’re
not going to have Billy every night or Peter every night ... it is really a blessing
to have either one of them to step in and give us a chance to win the game.”
Sias lives in Palos Heights, Illinois, a southwest suburb of
Chicago near Tinley Park, while Wisnieff grew up in Lake Forest, Illinois.
Sias, along with his fiancee Andrea, moved to the Chicago
area before the season because she’s from that area. They met in college at
Concordia University in Mequon.
It’s about a two-hour drive ... in good traffic and/or good
weather.
“I knew I wanted to try to make it work in some capacity,”
Sias said, adding it was a challenge early on dealing with a new job in a new
area. “Having Pete down there made it a ton easier.”
Sias helps run a hockey equipment store and Wisnieff is an
executive recruiter for manufacturing companies.
They switch off driving, which has been easier since gas
prices dropped to a reasonable rate. “It’s a lot of fun playing with the guys,”
Sias said. “It makes it easy when you show up and you get to play with this
group of guys.
“The wins make it a little easier driving to and from, for
sure.”
Sias knew last season Wisnieff commuted from Chicago.
“You have to have respect for that, knowing he’s driving two
hours each way,” Sias said. “That’s four hours of his day driving to just to
come here to skate.”
During the season, they each work their full-time jobs, and
the designated driver for the trip picks up the other and comes to West Bend.
Practice is typically one night a week and usually after 9 p.m. After practice,
they get back in the car, drive two or three hours home, go to bed and get up
the next morning and work a full eight-hour shift, most of the time starting at
8 a.m.
On game nights, especially Fridays, they’re often leaving
straight from the job for West Bend. And if there is a weekend doubleheader,
they stay with teammates.
It’s a grueling schedule, which makes their performance more
impressive because they also play a position that’s a challenge, especially
mentally. If the focus is off a smidgen, it’s a long night between the pipes.
They each admit there are times the constant travel gets
boring.
“It’s usually on the way back when it’s midnight, 1 a.m.
when you’re kind of like, ‘Is it really worth it?’” Sias said. “It always is.”
What about if the wins weren’t there?
“It’s tough to say,” Sias said. “The wins make it a little
more worth it. But this group of guys make it a lot easier.”
How these netminders stay fresh and sharp differ. Sias will
go to a local rink. Wisnieff chooses to relax and lay down at home.
Wisnieff is one of the leaders of the Bombers who helped
transition the franchise from cellar-dweller to title contender.
“It’s a blast coming up here,” Wisnieff said. “It’s why I
still do it.”
Before the 2012-13 season and coming off a 2-17-1 record the
previous season, dedication was a problem, almost to the point where the
Bombers were ready to fold.
“We didn’t have enough guys committed,” Holtz said.
Some of the reasons were justified with most players having
full-time jobs on top of playing hockey.
The lack of victories piled on, adding more frustration.
“I’d be calling guys on Fridays before the game, asking if
they were coming,” Holtz said. “I didn’t know if guys were going to show up.
“These guys, they just show up. I don’t have to make a phone
call.”
Wisnieff arrived with the Bombers in 2013 after the Capitals
folded. In the 2013-14 season, Wisnieff set the franchise record for victories
in a season (10) and the Bombers won a thenfranchise record 21 games.
After Sias arrived the next season, he went 4-2 in 10
appearances with a 1.98 GAA, three shutouts and a 0.974 save percentage — all
franchise records.
“Consistent goaltending is what Billy brings,” Holtz said.
“You put him in the net, you know what you’re going to get. You put a little
defense in front of him and it’s pretty much lights out. He’s our go-to guy.”
Wisnieff and Bremer aren’t far behind.
“All three of them have been playing well all year,” Holtz
said.
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