Photo by Josiah Phifer
Written By: Ryan Baker, Journalist
The Minnesota Wind Chill face their toughest test of the season with a trip to the West Coast for a doubleheader weekend.
On Friday, the 5-0 Wind Chill will face the 7-0 Oakland Spiders, then take on the winless Vegas Bighorns the next day. The first game is the weekend's spotlight because it pits two unbeaten teams against each other.
The two teams atop the power rankings are on a collision course for what could very well be the game of the year. It’s also a stylistically intriguing fight between the Spiders’ fast, potent offense and the Wind Chill’s pressure-heavy defense, which makes you grind for every throw.
“I think a slight difference is how they move the ball,” said Bryan Vohnoutka, who leads the team in receiving yards. “When you watch them chain passes together, they eat up a lot of the field very quickly. Everyone is constantly cycling upfield, putting pressure on the defense, and taking advantage of weak marking and defensive positioning.”
Photo by Trent Erickson
This potential Championship Weekend preview also gives us a chance to watch an Oakland defense that is leagues better than it was last year face a Wind Chill offense that has looked its best in the last couple of years.
“We want to be challenged,” Head Coach Ben Feldman said. “We want to play against the best. We have to have an A game against these guys.”
The Spiders have had a remarkable season, beating five of their seven opponents by 10 or more points. They rank second in the league in huck completion percentage, hold percentage, and offensive-line conversion rate, and first in blocks generated and break percentage. The Wind Chill have the best overall completion percentage and defensive line conversion rate, and rank fifth in red zone conversion rate.
“Oakland has a ton of speed,” Feldman stated. “We feel like we have speed to match up with that, but trying to find ways to slow down their momentum offensively and create opportunities is going to be really important. Although we’re the best converting team in the league on defense after we get the disc, Oakland’s the best at not allowing the defense to convert once they turn it over.”
The key for Minnesota is to walk away with a win, pick up the pace, and generate more pressure on defense. Although their defense is powerful, their block production isn’t what it has been in years past, and that will need to change if they want a shot in this one.
The hit Minnesota takes this weekend is playing without Thomas Shope, who was going to be a big part of the offense’s tempo, and Max Hanscom, who provides one of the biggest height boosts on the team.
Photo by Josiah Phifer
Despite Shope being out, Minnesota will need to rely on Gordon Larson, who is on a tear, throwing six assists in each of his last three games; Nate De Morgan, who is off to a blistering start to his tenure in Minnesota; and Noah Coolman. They have the skill and ability to throw punches with one of the highest-scoring offenses in the league.
“We’ve made a lot of progress with spacing, momentum, and how we’re approaching our offensive system,” Feldman said. “We have a little more vertical threat with the addition of Nate [De Morgan]. If it’s a windy game, I feel good about the throwers and individuals we have in that unit to be effective in those conditions.”
Constructed similarly, both teams are effective from any point in their active 20 that they send out on the field. With Oakland’s outlier being Daniel Ritthaler, who leads the team and is second in the league in goals, they have five other guys with more than 10 goals, 8 with more than 10 assists, and 10 with more than 5 blocks.
It will be an all-around effort, but there will be extra eyes on guys like Justin Burnett, Lukas Ambrose, and Paul Krenik to get the defense rolling. Burnett is ready for the challenge, saying that he’s ready to guard anyone who comes his way. His 9 blocks in 4 games currently lead the team.
Photo by Josiah Phifer
“Oakland’s offense looks amazing,” Burnett said. “They have some great athletes and are playing as a team. I do think our defense has the athletes to match up well with them, and we have several different looks we can show them to keep them from getting comfortable and settling into a rhythm.”
Feldman will have to pull some tricks from his deep coaching bag to throw Oakland off its game. In this one, it will come down to one or two throws, so capitalizing on them will be immensely important.
With all the attention on the Spiders, the Wind Chill will have to shift their focus quickly and then turn to Vegas the next day. It’s two never-before-seen matchups, so even though Vegas is considerably weaker, Burnett emphasized that they can’t underestimate anyone this weekend.
“Oakland's been absorbing a lot of our focus and energy this week,” said Feldman. “The leadership team has put in a lot of work, and Friday night after the game, we will prepare for Vegas. We’re trying not to look beyond Friday and putting all of our focus and energy into that matchup.”
All things considered, it should be a much lighter, easier game against the Bighorns, a franchise still seeking its first-ever win. Sure, they will come out firing after Minnesota’s toughest game of the year, but if the Wind Chill stay within themselves, the game is expected to be relatively lopsided.
After this weekend, the Wind Chill will have surpassed the halfway point of their 2026 season and be gearing up for a tough stretch that includes games against the Salt Lake Shred and Boston Glory, so one of the biggest things is taking away the good and bad from the weekend.
At the end of the day, the Wind Chill are in a great position in the Central, so this weekend won’t affect the end-of-the-year standings as much as it could be. However, they are going to learn a lot about themselves, and taking that into the rest of the year is of the utmost importance.
To watch the Oakland Spiders game on Friday at 7 p.m. PDT, go here!
To watch the Vegas Bighorns game on Saturday at 7 p.m. PDT, go here!
Join other Wind Chill fans for both the Oakland and Vegas matchups at the team’s official watch party at New Bohemia in Golden Valley! Each fan in attendance at the beginning of Friday’s game will have the opportunity to guess the exact score of the contest to win a $350 Wind Chill Digital Gift Card! If no one wins, the prize will increase by $100 for the next Road Game watch party.
