Photo by Rich Moll
Written By: Ryan Baker, Journalist
Headlines were made this past Friday night when the Minnesota Wind Chill took down the undefeated Atlanta Hustle 17-15 at TCO Stadium.
The first headline is right there in the opener. The 6-0 Atlanta Hustle are now 6-2 after a weekend against Central Division opponents. The Wind Chill were able to play through the physicality and adverse game to grab their third win of the season.
The second headline is the win at the special location for the hometown team. This was the first time in four games that the Wind Chill came out on top at the Minnesota Vikings practice facility.
The third headline features Justin Burnett being named the Pabst Light Player of the Game against his former team.
“It felt great and very validating to go out there and show everyone how much of a difference maker I was for Atlanta and am for the Wind Chill now. I still love the Hustle and I hope to see them at Champ Weekend, but on the field, it’s all business and I was always going to bring my A-game to this matchup. I knew that and they knew that, so it was fun to go out and battle,” said Burnett.
The D-line for Minnesota gave troubles to, arguably, the best offense in the league at this point in the season. A flat mark to begin stalls prevented Atlanta from shooting it deep, and as the stall count rose, Minnesota would start to force towards the teeth of their defense.
Photo by Rich Moll
That resulted in Atlanta turning the disc seven times in the first quarter alone, a team that averaged just eleven per game through their first six games. The wind did play a factor in the first half, and we saw both teams struggle to navigate it. Discs were floating longer than expected and wobbling as they settled back down, making it incredibly difficult to get a good read on it.
Both teams had their chances to land big shots in the first quarter but failed to do so. Cameron Lacy and James Pollard were pulling the disc beautifully all game, flustering the Atlanta offense in their endzone. The tides began to turn when Pollard reached up with his size to snatch a Callahan to put Minnesota up 4-3.
After Atlanta tied it up before heading into the second quarter, it was back and forth. Quinn Snider grabbed two of his four goals and an assist in the second frame, but on a Will Brandt high-release backhand turnover, Atlanta punched in a break score with 24 seconds left in the first half. That put the Hustle up 9-8 heading into halftime.
Photo by Rich Moll
“It was good movement by our offensive unit. I think we are still building towards a more complete offense, in terms of efficiency, and effort, and are on the right track. Our cutters do a great job of creating space, so I was fortunate to find some soft spots and punch in a few goals,” said Snider.
Each team was able to produce holds for the first few points coming out of the break. We saw smoother play with the wind nearly nonexistent in the second half. Down by one, Bret Bergmeier released a big huck that was deflected by the Hustle, but saved by an insane layout on the goal line by Matthew Johnson. Two throws later, Minnesota punched in a break from Blake Krapfl to Gabe Jagt to tie the game.
Photo by Meghan White
Starting the fourth quarter, the offense of the reigning champs had to take care of business to put the pressure on Atlanta for the final 12 minutes of the game. A Paul Krenik to Brandt score to take the lead did exactly that.
The next point, we saw some friendly competition between Burnett and his former team, as Hayden Austin-Knab scored on Burnett, turned around, and immediately started waving in the face of Burnett. Conversely, Burnett responded with the same action, and all of a sudden the two were running alongside each other, waving with the biggest smiles on their faces.
“That interaction was nothing crazy. I’ve been playing against Hayden since high school, and in the three years we spent as teammates, I would guard him all the time in practice. Trash talk and some antics are just natural when it’s two very competitive players who are deeply familiar with each other’s games. At the end of the game, it’s still all respect and friendship,” said Burnett.
Photo by Rich Moll
Burnett was able to get his revenge when he intercepted an under throw and immediately hucked it to a sliding Dylan DeClerck for a Minnesota break. With 7:20 left, the Wind Chill saw themselves up 15-13. However, there was no quit from Atlanta. Tanner Robinson made a full stretched-out layout block after poaching a Brandt throw, then caught the goal to tie the game at 15.
A Bryan Vohnoutka recovery grab and huck to Snider, and Brandt to Krenik break score the next two points put the nail in the coffin. A two-point lead with just under three minutes to go was held on to for the remainder of the game.
Photo by Rich Moll
“I think they are as physical as any central division opponent. When you have refs out there responsible for making those calls you can, obviously, get away with a bit more. I thought they played some of us particularly physically but it resulted in fun matchups,” said Snider.
When you only allow three breaks and force a huck-heavy team to shoot 33% on their shots, it’s a good formula to win the game. Also, when Brandt goes for five assists, and 420 total yards with a goal and a block, it shows that the offense was flowing well. Snider’s four goals were matched by Krenik and his one assist.
The big win at the big location put Minnesota at 3-1 and gave them a huge win against the consensus best team in the league before the weekend. They will take this momentum into next weekend's matchup against the Pittsburgh Thunderbirds. It will be at home, just moved over to Sea Foam Stadium for the second matchup between the two.
