Out of Africa - Hornet great Mike Betz returns to the Ice

Earl Bugaile has done it again with this insightful interview about the career, hopes and aspirations of former great Mike Betz and his new hockey opportunity with the Wheeling Nailers. Congratulations Mike and Kudo's again to Earl!


It has been said that you can never really leave a place that you love. It is especially true as it applies to hockey, because the sport has a way of taking hold of one’s self. Players who love the game have difficulty leaving it entirely.

Take the case of goalie Mike Betz, from Elizabeth, PA, who signed on last week as back-up netminder for the Nailers. Only a few weeks ago was working in a mission serving youth in West Africa. He felt the desire to return to hockey, and attempt to pick up a career that demonstrated a lot of promise, when he established himself as one of the NCAA’s top goalies at Ohio State.

Betz was signed briefly by the Nailers last spring to fill an emergency role, and left shortly thereafter to fulfill his call to mission. “I had been planning to go to Africa for over a year, he said. “The last few months, I was working in a home for street children in Sierra Leone. It’s been quite an off-season, because I had no intention of coming back and playing hockey this year. The situation was really good there, and I loved the work, but it was time to come back.”

One of the first things Betz did upon returning home was to send letters of interest to the ECHL teams, and it was the Nailers who called. “I was hoping Wheeling would need a goaltender, and to be able to come back here is beyond anything I could ask for,” he said. Talk about being in the right place at the right time.Betz returned just as the Nailers and the rest of the Penguins organization experienced a reshuffling of their goalies. Jocelyn Thibault was placed on Injured Reserve, Sebastian Caron and Dany Sabourin were recalled by the Penguins, and Andy Chiodo was recalled to Wilkes Barre, which left Andy Franck as the only goalie in Wheeling. Barring any major moves among the Penguins goalies, Betz is likely to stay with the Nailers for the remainder of the season, and perhaps beyond.

There may be more to being in the right place at the right time with Betz arrival in Wheeling. Maybe it has something to do with Divine Intervention. “While I was there the whole time I was thinking about hockey,” he said. “For some reason, on Sundays at church my mind just kept wandering to hockey, and I knew that was the time that maybe I should start to heed this call.”With Betz, the Nailers have a goalie with strong credentials, who established himself for four seasons at Ohio State, where he still holds most of the significant goaltending records.

As a four-year starter with the Buckeyes, Betz compiled a record of 73-57-9, for the all-time record in wins, and he also owns the record for lowest single-season goals-against average at 2.24. In addition to finding a pretty good backup, the Nailers have found themselves an even better person. Those who have met him, will tell you that Mike Betz is one of the nicest persons you’ll ever want to meet. During his years at Ohio State, Betz traveled to Tanzania on a Medical and Educational mission, he raised over $9,000 for children of Tanzania, and was a finalist for the College Hockey Humanitarian Award.

He has been active in mission work most of his life.For the immediate future, Betz will concentrate in getting himself in game-shape, since he has not been on the ice since last March, the last time he was signed by the Nailers. But most estimations, Betz could be ready to play within the next 10 days.The return to Wheeling is much more than just a homecoming for Betz. It not only affords him the opportunity to play professional hockey just a little over an hour from his home town, but it reunites him with players with whom he played with over the years.

Most notably, are Nailers defenseman Cliff Loya from Mt. Lebanon, and Bill Downey, who played high school hockey at Central Catholic.“It’s just been great. To came back into this locker room knowing Cliff and Bill since my childhood, and knowing a lot of other guys from last year. It’s been such an easy transition for me,” he said. He’ll also have the opportunity to come across many of the other players in the ECHL he has either played with or against in his years at Ohio State.

Most notable among those will be JB Bittner, of the Johnstown Chiefs, who, like Betz, was a former Pittsburgh Hornet, and who played on the same teams with him at Ohio State.“I had a great experience here last year. Being a Pittsburgh boy, it’s exciting to be part of all this,” he said.If all goes according to plan, the Nailers and their fans will be happy with his decision to follow his love back to Wheeling.