SPORTS

West 's brother trio share same ice mentality

Tim Johnson
USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin
Wausau West senior, Nick Techel, hits the ice during pregame introductions before a WIAA sectional final last Saturday. Techel is the oldest of three brothers playing for the Warriors this season.

WAUSAU - Sam Techel is described by his teammates and coaches as having a light-hearted personality and being one of the funnier players on the Wausau West boys hockey team.

The sophomore forward plays with an edge, however.

That was demonstrated during a WIAA sectional title game last Saturday in Mosinee. Techel's hit at the Stevens Point Area Senior High blue line sent a Panthers player to the ice and drew cheers of approval from the Wausau West student section in the packed stands.

"He is a very strong, very powerful forward. It's kind of the opposite of his personality off the rink" West coach Brian Brandt Jr. said.  "He tries to bring a lighter mood to the situations."

RELATED: West downs SPASH in OT in sectional final thriller 

RELATED: Central Wisconsin Storm wins 10th straight sectional title

Techel's personality differs from his older brothers and teammates, Max and Nick. who are a junior and senior, respectively. The three are roughly the same size — listed from 5-foot-9 to 5-10 and 155 to 175 pounds on the West roster. The trio, who wear No 21 (Nick) No. 22 (Sam) and No. 23 (Max), also share the same mentality on the ice.

"All three of them bring physicality to their game," Brandt Jr. said. "I don't think they go out of their way to be physical. They do a good job of being physical at the right moments.

"They get along most of the time but the thing about those guys is that they all are super competitive," Brandt Jr. said. "They absolutely love to compete which can be really good for us and really good for them,and at times it gets a little too competitive (in practice). They really can get after each other."

NIck 
Techel

The three Techel brothers are in their second year as teammates for a West team which faces West Salem/Bangor in a WIAA state quarterfinal Thursday. The game is set for an approximate start of 7:15 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Madison. The trio has combined for 38 goals and 86 points for West this season.

"It's a pretty cool opportunity and you just have to cherish the moment," Nick said.

Max
Techel

Nick, is one of four captains for West and centers the Warriors top line with Josh Bohlin and Christian Bardarson at wings. He had an assist on all three of the Warriors goals in the sectional title game including Bardarson's game-winner in overtime as West edged SPASH 3-2.

Brandt Jr. said Nick is a vocal leader for the Warriors, while Max is the more stoic of the three Techel brothers.

Sam 
Techel

"He will talk in the moments that he needs to, but he's just 'Steady Eddy'," Brandt Jr. said of Max, who teamed with Jacob Evans as the starting defensive linemates for West against SPASH. "He just wants to go out and do his job and he is really solid defensively for us."

Max split time as a forward and defenseman in youth hockey and moved to defense full-time in his freshman year at West. He suffered a back injury that same season which sidelined him as West advanced to the state tournament title game in which Superior downed the Warriors 6-0.

Sam made the varsity roster last year as a freshman, which allowed the brothers to skate together on the same team for the first time since Max and Sam were pulled up to play on Mites youth hockey team with Nick late in the season.

"I look up to Nick a lot. Whenever I need help, he is always there for me," said Max, who also has played with Nick the past two spring seasons with the Janesville Jr. Jets, a Class AAA development program in the state. "Sam is always the guy who can make me laugh. He is probably the funniest of the brothers."

Wausau West junior, Max Techel skates down rink during the second period as Wausau West and SPASH play in the sectional final last Saturdayl at the Mosinee Recreation Center
Wausau West sophomore, Sam Techel, walks into the locker room before faceoff as Wausau West and SPASH play in the sectional final at the Mosinee Recreation Center last Satuday in Mosinee

Sam and Nick were on the same line earlier this season until the Techel-Bardarson-Bohlin line was formed in December.  A highlight of the brothers reunion came in early February this year in the first period of West's win against Wisconsin Rapids. Sam scored a power-play goal and Nick and Max both picked up the assists on the play.

"It was kind of something we had been shooting for all season," Nick said. "There were a couple times before where two of us had touched the puck (on a goal), but to get all three of us to touch the puck, that was pretty special."

The puck became a keepsake.

"I think both our parents shed a tear on that (goal)," said Sam, who is paired on a line with Cade Lemmer and Max Zingler. "We kept the puck."

Tim Johnson: 715-845-0731, or twjohnson@gannett.com; on Twitter @timmyjo11

WIAA STATE BOYS HOCKEY TOURNAMENT

What: Wausau West (23-3-1) vs. West Salem/Bangor (22-3-1) in a state quarterfinal

Where: Veterans Memorial Coliseum

When: Apporximately 7:15 p.m. 

About Wausau West: The Warriors are making their 16th state appearance and seventh in the last eight years. West won the state championship in 2011 and have finished runners-up four times: 2000, 10, 12 and '15.Josh Bohlin leads the Warriors with 30 goals and 52 points and Christian Bardarson and Nick Techel have 45 and 44 points, respectively. Goalies Jacob Warnke and Ryan Raff have combined for a 1.39 goals against average.

About West Salem/Bangor: The Panthers are making their initial state appearance as a co-op program and are coached by Eric Borre, a former Wisconsin Rapids boys hockey player and a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. Jack Gormiak leads the Panthers with 33 goals and 71 point. Joey Oldendorft is second on the team with 37 points. Panthers goalies Adam Helgeson and Mitch Hammes have combined for a 1.52 goals against average.