Wind Chill Fall Short In Home Opener

By: Tanner Jurek

The Wind Chill are back home at Sea Foam stadium after a year away. Boasting a new beer garden with on-field access for die-hard fans, the Wind Chill are retooled, reloaded and ready to prove they’re still contenders in the Midwest Division.

Despite a hard-fought loss to the Chicago Wildfire, the Wind Chill showed a lot of promise and potential going forward. A variety of new players including several Canadian imports showed some growing pains as they got acclimated to their new team, but at the end of the day, they contributed significantly in the near comeback. Give them some time and the sky is the limit. Look for additions like Cam Burden, Quinn Snider, Tate Halberg, and Mathew Ladyman to shine for the Wind Chill going forward.

A summary of this game wouldn’t be complete without a mention of Josh Klane. Josh is a legitimate star in this league and deserves more respect nationally. If you’re open, Josh will find you. Without Jason Tschida, Josh sliced and diced Chicago’s defense to the tune of 10 assists and a 96% completion percentage, wowing spectators with unbelievable throws and an absolutely ridiculous stat line.

First Quarter

The Wind Chill started strong but some sloppy play from Minnesota gave Chicago’s new addition some time to shine, Chicago’s Zane Rankin made a couple of big plays to give the Wildfire the momentum. Chicago was up 5-3 in the blink of an eye. However, an interception from Wind Chill addition Daniel Bates got the momentum back and a pass from Josh Klane to another new addition, Cam Burden got the Wind Chill to within one. Again, another Josh Klane pass to another new addition, Quinn Snider tied the game at 5. A few points later, the pattern continued. Josh Klane went back to Cam Burden to give the Wind Chill the 7-6 lead going into the second quarter.

Second Quarter

The Wildfire received to start the second quarter. They stepped on the gas and took control of the game. 10-10 would be the last time the game would be tied until late in the fourth quarter. Strong play from Chicago pushed them ahead to a 17-13 lead. The lone bright spot in the second quarter was a buzzer-beating hammer from Cam Burden to Bryan Vohnoutka to end the half.

Third Quarter

The Wind Chill fought valiantly through the third quarter but couldn’t close the gap. The nerves started to settle and the Canadien additions started to show why there was so much hype around them coming into the season. Despite strong third-quarter play, the Wind Chill weren’t able to make up much ground. The third quarter ended with Chicago up 22-19.

Fourth Quarter

The fourth quarter was when the Wind Chill mounted their comeback. Nervous onlookers knew that the Wind Chill needed to make a move and needed to make it fast.

Chicago got the first point to go up 4. But slowly the Wind Chill worked there way back into it. Strong defense from Dylan Declerk brought the game to within one. Minnesota got a turnover on the next point and had a chance to convert but they weren’t able to punch it in. The score was 25-23, Chicago had the lead.

Another crazy assist from Josh Klane brought the game back to within 1, 25-24. Soon after a Chicago turnover, the Wind Chill were quickly able to tie it up for the first time since the score was 10-10. Now the score was 25-25, with the Wind Chill pulling to Chicago with about a minute left. Chicago worked the disc downfield and went up 26-25. With a little over 30 seconds left, the Wind Chill took the disc downfield but weren’t able to convert. Chicago would close out 26-25.

Looking Forward

The Wind Chill look to bounce back this weekend, Saturday, April 27th against the Pittsburgh Thunderbirds at Sea Foam Stadium in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Pittsburgh fell 26-17 to the Madison Radicals in the first game of their season.

You can purchase online discounted tickets for the game by clicking here!