Photo by Meghan White

Written By: Ryan Baker, Journalist

The wait is finally over. Your 2024 UFA Champions are hitting the field for the first time since their title run this Saturday night against the Indianapolis AlleyCats.

Looking at the paper, this seems like a lopsided affair, but Minnesota has to be careful they don’t get complacent and come out hungover from winning it all. The Wind Chill need to come out strong to make their presence known.

I say, “lopsided” because the championship team got better as we will see the Wind Chill debuts for Justin Burnett and James Pollard. Meanwhile, their opposition lost the core that had made the AlleyCats who they were. There will be no Cameron Brock, Travis Carpenter, Rick Gross, or Levi Jacobs for Indy.

Some may look at this game as a “trap game” for the Wind Chill, but staple puller and D-line starter Cameron Lacy understands that Indy may look different, but that doesn’t change the intensity and preparation for the team.

“They have plenty of young talent trying to make names for themselves, so we still have to game plan for anything. We’ll have to adjust to their new players trying to make big plays in their new roles. Between veterans on our team and the coaching staff, we tend to read and adjust quickly,” said Lacy.

Looking at Minnesota’s roster for the 2025 season debut, Max Hanscom will be suiting up for the first time for the Wind Chill alongside the previously mentioned Burnett and Pollard. As far as the rest of the lineup goes, the champs will have to wait for four of their key players to make their season debuts, with Colin Berry, Thomas Shope, Quinn Snider, and Brandon Matis all not being available for the Saturday night game. 

Finally, Dylan DeClerck’s status is questionable as of now, so that will be something to watch as the game gets closer.

The Alleycats are coming off their season debut loss against the Pittsburgh Thunderbirds last week, a game where Indy got broken seven times in three quarters, only had three breaks themselves, and had an O-line conversion rate of 50%.

There are going to be kinks with a relatively new squad, but if the AlleyCats come out the same way they did in Week 2, they are going to get steamrolled by the juggernaut in the Wind Chill. Captain Bryan Vohnoutka speaks on what the focus is going to need to be to notch that first win of the year.

“We know that every time we step onto the field, each team will give us their best shot. Everyone wants to be the first team to beat us. We have several process and result-oriented goals that begin this weekend. We plan to follow those, and if we can accomplish them, we feel that this will lead to the results we want,” said Vohnoutka.

With Nate Wahl out this week for Indy, the primary focus for Minnesota’s D-line will be on Seth Gudeman, who put up five goals, two assists, two blocks, and 475 total yards in the four-point loss to Pittsburgh. Even though Indy has a game under their belt, Lacy is confident that the team has been doing everything right in the offseason.  

“Just because it’s a long off-season, doesn’t mean that we haven’t gotten a ton of reps in as a team. I think once we step foot on the field, we will be ready to go. Getting James and Justin, and having their talent and hungry presence on the team, makes the rest of us returners feel even more amped to run this thing back,” said Lacy.

The reigning champs want to make a statement in this game. They go into Indy, hope to take care of business, come home, and host the Chicago Union next week.

“Going out there and taking care of business would not only be a great start to the season but also a bit of a statement to the league. We want to prove that we were the best defensive team in the league last year, and we just got a whole lot better for the 2025 season,” said Lacy.

There will be much more to analyze and discuss next week, once we have a small sample size of how Minnesota looks this year. However, for now, the focus is this Saturday at 5 p.m. CT at Kuntz Stadium in Indianapolis.

To watch the Wind Chill’s 2025 season debut, click here, or join other Wind Chill fans at the team’s official watch party at New Bohemia in Golden Valley! Attendees who predict the exact score of the game in the Wind Chill FanZone app will win a $250 Wind Chill team store gift card.