Photo by Rich Moll

Written By: Ryan Baker, Journalist

It’s time to gear up. An immovable object will be meeting with an unstoppable force this Friday night at Breese Stevens Field for the highly anticipated Championship Weekend. That immovable object is the defense of the Minnesota Wind Chill, while that unstoppable force is Atlanta Hustle’s offense.

These two prolific squads will meet for the second time this season, but this time, everything is on the line. It’s do or die. A chance to punch their ticket to the championship game hangs in the balance. It's Atlanta’s first time in the final four, and Minnesota is attempting to complete their back-to-back title run.

“With it being their first time qualifying, I know they’re fired up. We’ll be ready to play, and I think our guys are in the same boat, especially feeling like this is a bit of a home away from home with how our fans travel,” said head coach Ben Feldman.

“The home away from home” statement from Feldman is my biggest piece in all of this. It will feel like the Wind Chill has home-field advantage this entire weekend. Not only do the Minnesota fans travel incredibly well, but it’s also the closest city to Madison among all the teams at Championship Weekend. Additionally, Minnesota has the most experience playing at Breese Stevens Field. They haven’t lost a game there since July of 2022, and granted, all of these matchups were against the Madison Radicals, but the confidence is there for Minnesota playing in that venue.

“It’s awesome to have Championship Weekend at Breese. The recent success is nice, but I think the bigger thing will be our traveling fans. I’m looking forward to hearing them be loud and boisterous all weekend,” said Bryan Vohnoutka.

Taking a peek at the first game between these two, it was under the shiny lights of TCO Stadium back in late May. It was a game where Minnesota took over late and was able to come away with the two-point victory. However, even with a game between these two in the books, it’s hard to look at that matchup and assume things will be similar.

Photo by Rich Moll

“I think both teams have improved a lot since that matchup and also are going to be boasting slightly different rosters than what we both put out at TCO Stadium. Atlanta is a really talented, fast, and big team. We’re going to need to have a good performance to come out on the right side of things Friday night,” said Feldman.

A good performance may be an understatement. The reason that’s the case is that Atlanta simply does not turn the disc over. They have the best mark in the league with just 11.5 per game as opposed to Minnesota’s 19 per game. They also have the highest O-line conversion rate in the league at 63.3%, and they are coming off a quarterfinal game against San Diego where they allowed only four blocks to the Growlers. The Wind Chill won’t be able to afford those early game mistakes we’ve seen in their last two games.

“Preparation is important to mitigate early mistakes. That being said, sometimes things don’t go as planned. If the game gets wonky, it will be up to us to respond just like we did against Chicago. Put the next foot forward and pull ourselves back up,” said Vohnoutka.

If there was a defense that could stifle Atlanta’s potent offense, it would be Minnesota’s. They sit with the second-best break rate at 47.3%, nearly double what Atlanta’s is. Justin Burnett has been headlining the group with an outstanding playoff run, making big play after big play, including a callahan in the first round of the playoffs, then mitigating the arguable-MVP that led to a quarterfinal upset over Chicago. We will see if that can continue against Burnett’s former team.

Photo by Rich Moll

“It’s a great opportunity. I know they will bring their best game, and I know I’m bringing my best game, and the Wind Chill as a whole is bringing our best game. It’s just exciting to have a chance to clash again on an even bigger stage,” said Burnett.

The two biggest themes for Minnesota heading into this game are the mindset from their new additions, plus the fact that they are not hung up on last year’s title. Both of these will pay dividends in an attempt to make it back to the finals. The new additions know they weren’t a part of last year’s title run. That doesn’t get handed down.

“The scary thing about our team is that when we get momentum, it can go pretty hard and deep. Returning to the title game would be amazing, but it’s a reset button here. We got a new roster, and a lot of different guys in this group. We feel like we have something to prove,” said Feldman.

“I’ve said from the beginning of the season, I haven’t won anything. That’s part of what James [Pollard] and I brought to the team was hunger and drive, because we weren’t part of the championship last year. So I’m as hungry as can be, and I think everyone saw in the divisional championship. We aren’t getting complacent just because we beat Atlanta before. We are getting ready to fight with a hungrier, better team than last time,” said Burnett.

The talent and skill are there for both of these teams. Can Minnesota facilitate their offense in an efficient manner? Can Minnesota produce blocks against a team that rarely turns the disc over? Can Minnesota get their fans involved quickly? If yes is the answer to all of these questions, then we will be seeing the Wind Chill defending their title Saturday night, but all of those answers have to be yes in order for that to happen.

To purchase tickets to Championship Weekend at Breese Stevens Field, click here!

To tune into the second-to-last UFA game of the season at 7:30 pm CT on Friday, click here!