Fast Takes with Fast Break: Chicago vs Detroit

Authors: Sam Neilsen

PC: Major League Quadball

What happens when you take a final four finishing USQ club team and add a bunch of college and club stars to make an MLQ team? Turns out the answer is good things. This was exactly the script for the Chicago Prowl as they roared into the season against division rivals Minneapolis Monarchs two weeks ago, and one they will look to continue this week against the Detroit Innovators. It’s a tough year for the Innovators. They lost two very close games to the Monarchs early in the season and might be better than every team in the I-90 conference, but unless they can invent some new ways to score goals and Chicago takes a significant step back, even a single win for the Innovators might be out of reach.

Both Chicago and Detroit came into this season with rosters that, on paper, looked like pretty significant upgrades over last season, but with questions as to how they would come together. While their results against the shared opponent of Minneapolis couldn’t be more different, both teams have lived up to, or even exceeded expectations, and shown that they are ready to compete.

For the Prowl, the improvements are everywhere, whether it is the development of players from previous seasons, especially the roster core playing for Boom Train during the USQ season, or the additions of new stars like Darian Murcek-Ellis, Emma Vasquez (also on Boom Train), and Byron Ng. This has resulted in a more dynamic offense and a much stronger defense, better ability to make hits all over the field and execute clean rotations around the zone, beaters and chasers alike.

For the Innovators, while they have had to weather a few more important roster losses, they have also been buoyed by both player development and roster additions. University of Michigan’s Ryan Hsu and Rei Brodeur have continued to improve from last season with the Innovators, playing big minutes against Minneapolis and with Brodeur even having a positive plus/minus, despite the three losses. They have been helped out on the chasing side by the new additions of Julien Theuerkauf and Ethan Wanous, of Michigan and Michigan State respectively last USQ season.

Chicago looked in control for almost every minute of their series against Minneapolis, and at times were completely dominant in every phase of the game: offense, defense, beating, chasing, flag catching, you name it. Head coach Kennedy Murphy clearly has a plan for this team and it is working, as not only were they in control, they were in control with the *entire* team. Chicago ran very quick line changes, on the pace of a third full line change by around 10 minutes of game time, no matter whether they were down 40-30 (game 1) or up 90-10 (game 2). They also had 12 different players with at least three combined goals and assists in the series, and while Nathan Digmann led the team in both goals (11) and assists (7), the chasing lines around him are deeper than they have ever been. On the beating side, the Prowl ran just as deep, with all seven of their beaters getting real playing time, and all seven having a positive plus/minus. Long-time stars Matt Brown and Dany Yaacoub led the way, but Nojus Ausra, Michael Mrowiec and others also looked excellent against the Monarchs.

Detroit, while suffering three losses to Minneapolis, played them even in quadball points at 20 minutes for the first two games, continuing the trend of improvement against their North Division rivals we’ve seen over the last several seasons. This time they did it primarily through physical and disruptive defense which generated several fast breaks and slowed down the Monarch’s passing attack before it could really get going. On the other hand, when the game slowed down into half-court situations, Detroit struggled, mostly through trying to force the quadball into tough spaces and giving up easy turnovers. If they want to have a chance at a win against the Prowl, they’ll have to clean up the turnovers and continue to generate advantages through their size and physicality.

In one area, this will be a challenge, as Detroit does not have Theuerkauf on the roster this weekend. He was the leading goal scorer against the Monarchs and provided an imposing presence on defense that Detroit may struggle to replace. Whether Kaegan Maddelein, Gwen Pratt, and their other chasers can replace this production will be important if Detroit has any chance of hanging with Chicago.

On Chicago’s side, they will test just how deep their full roster is, with seven players getting their first playing time this season. Leading the way in notable absences from this weekend’s roster are Dany Yaacoub, who led the team in drives played against Minneapolis, and Darian Murcek-Ellis and Ryley Andrews, who were second and third in both goals and assists. If their first series is any indication however, the Prowl will be fine, with plenty of other players ready to step up.

One other highlight for this weekend is the players for both teams who played this past weekend at the IQA world cup. Chicago’s Ng and Detroit’s Brodeur and Hsu played in international scrimmages for the USNTDA leading up to the event, and Chicago’s Matt Brown, Nivash Jayaram, and Tim Kwan played for the United States, India, and Hong Kong respectively. All of these players had big impacts on their nationals teams, and will be looking to bring that experience back to the MLQ game.

This weekend Chicago will look to continue their winning ways with another sweep in Detroit, while the Innovators try to get their first win against the Prowl since 2019. This will be a tough task for a Chicago team that has looked excellent so far this season, and I expect Chicago to take the sweep in dominant fashion.

Prediction: Chicago 3 - 0 Detroit