The Minnesota Wind Chill are currently 5-1, and they hold a strong lead at the top of the Central Division. Three of their wins have come within 2 points, and the other two were against the Thunderbirds and Mechanix. Even still, Minnesota has shown strong depth with players like Marco Dregni, Bret Bergmeier, Bryan Vohnoutka, Sam Berglund, and Tanner Barcus stepping up in big ways at varying points of the season thus far.
In the next six games, the Wind Chill will determine their playoff standing and seeding, and will face a tough slate of opponents to do so. After narrowly beating the Radicals at home last week, they travel to Madison this Saturday to start a three-game road trip. After Madison, the Chill will travel to face the 2022 West Division Champions in the Colorado Summit, and then they will head back to Breese Stevens field for the final regular season matchup against the Radicals. These games will be increasingly interesting and important, and will really put Minnesota to the test.
Jeph, Jay, and Caine each have some mid-season thoughts on what they’ve seen in the Wind Chill thus far, and where they think the season will go in the second half.
By the Numbers
Hold percentage: 69.64 (#7 in the league)
Break percentage: 31.85% (#11 in the league)
Completion Percentage: 94.32% (#5 in the league)
Blocks: 63 (#12 in the league)
Callahans: 3 (#1 in the league)
Jeph:
For some reason, I’m skeptical. It is not controversial to say the Wind Chill are a good team, and they deserve the first place spot they currently hold. They’re good, but how good are they?
The Wind Chill’s schedule in the second half is going to answer that question really fast. The upcoming road trip is going to be interesting, to say the least. Most of my concerns, I think, will be addressed when they play against the Summit in Colorado. Even if they lose, but they lose well, I’ll be convinced the Chill are truly contenders in the league. If they win in pretty much any fashion, I’ll be convinced. But if it is a blowout, or if they just can’t quite put it together, then my skepticism will remain.
On the other hand, the AlleyCats, who are currently Minnesota’s biggest immediate threat, have a very easy second half coming up. They are set to face the Mechanix once, the Radicals twice, the Thunderbirds twice, and the Wind Chill once. Of course, we can’t assume any of those will be automatic wins, but you can certainly extrapolate from past data and predict at least half of those games. The biggest matchup, no doubt, will be against the Chill on July 9.
Inconsistency and depth pair really well typically — if players are missing, you can easily fill in the gaps with your bench. That is what Minnesota has faced pretty much this entire season, almost never putting a full strength roster together. Missing Abe Coffin, Paul Krenik, Will Brandt, Jason Tschida, Josh Klane, and Marco Dregni at varying points in the season has forced the team to scrounge up a cast of other players who have actually showed up huge for the team. This is what I think sparked Tristan Van de Moortele’s electric run, where Bret Bergmeier, Sam Berglund, and Jordan Taylor got some valuable reps in and established themselves as major components in this lineup.
The depth has been incredible, and it goes to show that even without full strength, this team is good. So what will they look like when (if?) they do put together a full-strength roster? This is going to be a huge factor to watch for; Paul Krenik returns to the team full-time just in time for the home matchup against the Union on July 15, and if the rest of the team becomes available around the same time (or sooner!), they will really click and will hopefully make some magic happen.
Caine:
Inconsistency can hurt, but it only hurts when the team suffers from it. After talking to Tristan Van de Moortele and Cameron Lacy, along with just watching how the team has been functioning, I don’t think the roster inconsistency has been hurting us. I think it has given players like Jordan Taylor, Sam Berglund, and TVDM more opportunity to shine.
The Chill’s O-line has been missing Klane and Coffin for two games now, and we’re still number five in the league for O-line conversion. That’s not exactly what I would call a weakness. Klane and Coffin don’t need to find their identity in this league or this team. So when they return to the roster, it’ll show that we have depth.
I’m excited to watch the team build more momentum across the season.
I feel weirdly good about the upcoming Colorado game, but I overall agree with Jeph. I’m hopeful and relatively confident in the Chill, but if the game ends up being Colorado just stomping on us, then my wishes of a championship game become less realistic (this year). It’s cool to see how the Wind Chill have been this successful in a season that was so uncertain going into week one!
Jay:
Inconsistency will make their later games and post season better. Giving newer players more time on the field and more of an opportunity to make mistakes that they will learn from makes better players. Having more players be just a little bit better, and creating that depth, is what makes a good team a great team.
Some messy plays throughout the Wind Chill’s games have made the team look significantly worse than they actually are. Some impatient and un-chilly throws have led to sticky situations. But Minnesota has taken some awesome risks this season. The trust the players have for one another is evident by every layout block attempt and deep look. They know their team will have them covered, even if it doesn’t look like they do. However, unnecessary risks are what is keeping the Chill from steamrolling every team they play.
If Minnesota beats Colorado it will be because of two things, the first of which is the deep pulls. Colorado’s O-Line will make few mistakes for Minnesota to capitalize on, so making them go the whole length of the field every time, and especially with the threat of a Callahan looming over Colorado, increases the odds Colorado makes that mistake. The second thing is that the Wind Chill need to have a high offensive efficiency. Because Colorado won’t give MN many opportunities to strike, getting behind means even more of a fight to get back.
Also, Tanner Barcus is amazing and needs to play on every defensive point.
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