Written By: Ryan Baker, Journalist

It is clear that the Minnesota Wind Chill are not suffering from the infamous championship hangover. Their 2025 season debut brought home the Wind Chill’s first notch in the win column after a 32-17 win against the Indianapolis AlleyCats.

It was pure domination from the reigning champs with their stellar D-line producing five straight breaks to open the game. The effect of their new additions was immediately felt when Max Hanscom got a hand on a hammer throw from Indy on the first point that led to a James Pollard score. Pollard grabbed three goals and one block in his Wind Chill debut, while Hanscom snatched three blocks in his UFA debut.

“As far as my play, it felt amazing that I was able to score on my very first point in the Wind Chill uniform. I feel like I was able to show the fans most of what they can expect to see from me on the field. With how good the defense was last year and the buzz around adding Justin and myself to that team, it was awesome that we could show out in game one with big plays,” said Pollard.

Minnesota was getting anything that they wanted, as they didn’t turn the disc over until seven minutes into the game and ended with just 12 turnovers for the entire game. On the flip side, Indy turned over the disc 26 times and had a very difficult time getting around another key addition, Justin Burnett.

Burnett showed his impact, getting three of his four blocks in the first half. At the end of the first half, Burnett put on the burners for an 80-yard score from captain Tristan Van de Moortele, who had a +/- of eight. The next point, Indy attempted a hail mary with time expiring, that Burnett reached up to knock away. That sequence put up the Wind Chill 17-7 going into the second half.

"I think Saturday demonstrated the spark and fire we are bringing to the team. I said before that I haven’t won anything yet, and that’s true for all of the new guys. So, I feel like we are going into this season extra hungry, and that’s what showed versus Indy,” said Burnett.

It was more of the same the rest of the way. Head coach Ben Feldman opened lines up and everyone who suited up for Feldman played at least 17 points. Minnesota expanded their lead to 13 heading into the fourth quarter and scored eight more goals to cap off their season debut.  

“If we struggle out of the gate on offense, it’s tough to get the frisbee back with no wind on the road. We were happy that we weren’t the first ones to turn it. I think it allowed us to play a little looser and built up confidence to carry us through the rest of the game,” said Feldman.

This was a stat-boosting game as Minnesota went 16/19 on holds, managed 16 breaks, and converted in the red zone 89% of the time. Individually, Gordon Larson led the team with six assists, while adding 416 total yards. Championship Weekend MVP Will Brandt started his 2025 campaign with 722 total yards, three goals, and three assists. Finally, Matt Rehder led the game in goals, scoring five and assisting on one in just 17 points played.

Despite the numbers looking pretty on paper, according to the reigning champs, there are still things that need to be worked on throughout the season.

“I imagine this was one of the easiest games we play all season, so I’m hoping that we remain resilient during moments when our first look isn’t always open. Better defenses will do a better job slowing us down, and when that happens, it’s important that we keep composure and organization, and allow the closest players to the disc to solve and reestablish the flow,” said Rehder.

“The game went according to plan. We came out firing with defensive pressure to set the tone for the rest of the game. Despite the score, we still have some things to work on. Our D-line offensive structure can and will be cleaner going forward,” said Pollard.

The Wind Chill look scarier than they did last year. This game showed that. After the defense would get a turn, the offense had eyes downfield immediately. Burnett’s speed and ability to stretch the field were described earlier, and they are taking full advantage of Pollard’s height and speed.

At the end of the third quarter, Pollard picked up the disc in the corner and ran a handler eject, where he got the disc off to a handler and sprinted deep. Then, at the end of the game, Pollard capped off his debut with a major sky from Larson.

Granted, Indy is a very young team that made plenty of mistakes Saturday night, but it was a great preview for things to come with this new-looking Wind Chill.

“We were confident going into the game, so it felt good to get that first one under our belt. After coming off a title win, to meet expectations and take care of business regardless of the opponent is always a good way to start the season,” said Feldman.

It was a good building block for the season, but this upcoming Saturday will give us much better insight as to how scary Minnesota could be when they host the Chicago Union for their home opener.