The Wind Chill are flying to the Rockies this week for an interdivisional game in the peaks against one of the league’s best. Or maybe they aren’t?
The Wind Chill will face the Colorado Summit this weekend in Colorado. It will be a massive interdivisional game with huge season-long impacts for the Wind Chill and for the Summit. The Wind Chill is expecting to fly to Colorado with a near full-strength roster, as Abe Coffin is coming back from an injury that has kept him out since mid-May. Colorado is also looking to have all of their stars on the field this weekend in a must win scenario for them.
Setting Up Base Camp
At the beginning of the season, and up until about Thursday of last week, Colorado was favored in the head-to-head. Everyone knew it. But after suffering three losses in a row, Colorado doesn’t appear to be as unstoppable as they did at the start of the season. Conversely, with Minnesota on a 6-1 tear through the Central Division, winning several games while missing key components of their roster and flexing their depth, the Summit is going to need a solid game plan against them. And head coach Ben Feldman thinks he knows what both teams need to do.
“Our offensive unit is going to have to find their rhythm in a game where I expect both teams will be ready to capitalize on turnovers and defensive conversion opportunities,” he said. Feldman knows that Colorado is going to be on the hunt for break points at every opportunity, and if the Wind Chill’s O-line can fall into a rhythm to prevent that, a 7-1 record is on the table.
“We are excited to have Abe Coffin back on the field with us this Weekend,” Feldman continued. “[He] should add to a more dynamic look to our attack.”
The Wind Chill’s O-line has their plans. But what about the D-line? How do you stop and even break the Colorado Summit? By doing exactly what the Chill have been doing all season. Colorado has struggled to work the disc 90 yards down the field, especially when pinned in their own end zone. With the Wind Chill’s expertly placed pulls from Sam Berglund and Cameron Lacy, plus a handful of Callahans, Colorado is going to have pressure on them deep like they have never seen before. Despite patient handlers on Colorado, reset throws from cutters will be marked harder by the Wind Chill, who generate multiple blocks on resets, and this new pressure may cause errant throws that lead to momentum-shifting breaks.
Reaching Their Peak
This game will be no picnic. Colorado has lost their last three games, putting them in a must-win situation to stay competitive in their division. On the other side of that, if Minnesota can secure a win in Colorado, they will have done what the AlleyCats failed to do: beat an interdivisional opponent. This will keep Minnesota at least one game ahead of Indianapolis whose next two games are against the Madison Radicals.
In our recent Mid-Season Thoughts article, each of us noted how the upcoming game against the Colorado Summit will really help calculate where the Wind Chill stand in terms of skill, chemistry, depth and true ranking within the entire league. This game will by no means be seen as a failure if the team loses; if they can put up a good fight and keep it close, or play their game and lose purely based on being outplayed, then it will show how Minnesota is right there with one of the best teams in the league, and they’ll be ready for Championship Weekend. However, if they get absolutely blown out of the water, then we’ll have to take a step back and reassess the team’s strengths and general trajectory.
But of course, that won’t matter, because they’re going to be coming back from Colorado high off a win. And on national TV, that may be the boost they need to finalize their standing and earn a top spot in the Division and league as a whole.
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