Fast Takes with Fast Break: North Championship- Minneapolis v Rochester

Authors: Jack Levy, Jack Moseley and Caleb Van Buren

PC: Major League Quadball

For the second straight season, the Minneapolis Monarchs and Rochester Whiteout are squaring off at the North Division Championships in South Bend, Indiana. But unlike 2022, Saturday’s showdown isn’t for the North division crown, but for a ticket to Iowa. Both these teams made the playoff bracket last season, but this year they are both fighting for a chance to play in the wild card. These teams are coming in hungry, already disappointed they are playing on Saturday instead of Sunday, which should make for an exciting rematch.

The Monarchs are coming into the matchup as heavy favorites. Last year, they soared to victory, winning pretty-handedly in games one and two, and again during an in-range game three. Even though national team chaser Emma Persons isn’t rostered, most of the Minneapolis squad is in full health to take on the Whiteout in a rematch. They also get the addition of the key pieces from their stronger 2021 championship team who are taking on Rochester for the first time. A big part of that addition is in the seeking game. Last year at North Division Championships, Minneapolis never caught the flag, whereas the Whiteout did twice. That won’t likely be an issue coming into this weekend with Henry Baer-Benson and Joe Goulet rostered. In 2022, the Monarchs were missing these two elite seekers, but having them back this season has already proved beneficial. Between the two of them, Minneapolis has caught four flags (that’s four times more than last season). The team has also given up only one flag catch in six games, likely due to the teams’ dominant flag-on-pitch beaters. The beater pair of Gracie Johnson and Joe Blanchard will likely see a lot of minutes this weekend, as well as Cody Naverson. But leading the beating squad has been the pairing of Ben Schluter and Nathan Podolsky, the only two beaters in the division with a positive plus/minus after playing Chicago. On the chaser end, expect Minneapolis’ two leading scorers Max Meier and Alexander “OB” Obanor to produce as they have been all season. Behind them is Cole Lachmiller, a returner from the 2021 team who is coming off an 80-point series against the Prowl. On the surface, these butterflies are ready to rise up and take flight just like they did last season.

But, monarchs are known for migrating away from the snow. The Whiteout are coming off their first series win of the season, a 2-1 victory over their i-90 rivals the Cleveland Riff. Unfortunately for the Whiteout, it looks as though the buck stops here. Bringing only 14 players (maybe even fewer) is less than ideal, bringing only two true beaters is downright discouraging. Still, Rochester has some exciting pieces to watch out for this weekend. While success in the seeking game hasn’t lived up to its potential on paper the Whiteout still boasts two excellent seekers of their own in Kit Powpour and Ad Ojo. Powpour has been a walking bucket this season, leading the Whiteout with 17 goals. Ben Stonish has been stellar as always as a cutter around the hoops trailing Powpour with the second most goals for the Whiteout this season, and JD Hopton’s physicality has popped on both offense and defense, which they will need against the size Monarchs can bring. Hopefully, coach Alyssa Giarrosso is back from injury this weekend alongside her University of Rochester pupils Joe Glichowski and Ashley Wilson, both of whom have been excellent on the defensive end so far this season (second and third on the team in stops). Lastly, while the beating rotation is thin, Ashley Dolan is always a reliable option, and Madeleine Fordham has an uncanny ability to make plays when it matters most. It will be interesting to see who Rochester pulls from their utility players to fill out their beater depth; Powpour and Glichowski both have experience but may be unexpendable as chasers. The final question is whether Cody Keefer is healthy for this weekend. His play against Cleveland really tipped the scales in Whiteout's favor and provided the kind of  physicality that will be needed against the Monarchs. The Whiteout are heavy under-deer coming into this series, but we know this team will play hard and make the Monarchs earn their bid to champs. Based on the fact that Minneapolis is bringing most of the 2022 roster that beat the Whiteout last season and the fact that the Monarchs are adding some new stars to their roster this weekend, while Rochester is bringing a small roster we expect the Monarchs to fly away with this one. 

Best Case Scenarios

For the Whiteout, an upset over Monarchs in one game (let alone two or three) would be a Christmas miracle the likes of which we haven’t seen since the Grinch learned to love. Day two is where Rochester is more likely to make an impact. They can hope to steal a game, or even two, off Detroit or Cleveland on Sunday. The small roster also gives them a great opportunity to get some developmental minutes in for their younger players. 

For the Monarchs, keeping their series on Saturday to two games is the best-case scenario and the most likely. Considering they’re bringing a combination of their returning players that swept Rochester last season and a handful of stars from their team two years ago, the weather should be clear for them to fly and thrive and give them the third seed in the North.

Prediction: Minneapolis 2-0