THUNDER BAY – SPORTS – The Thunder Bay Chill (2-2-1) will entertain WSA Winnipeg (1-7-0) this coming weekend for a pair of games that can hopefully put the Chill back on track with two wins. The Chill are coming off a solid second half performance against division co-leaders Chicago Fire U23 on Tuesday night after dropping two to the Des Moines Menace last weekend.
Thunder Bay is 19-2-1 overall against WSA Winnipeg after sweeping them in Winnipeg in early June by 5-1 and 2-1 margins. Thunder Bay struggled against the Menace last weekend having to play with 9 men for 79 minutes during their first encounter and then playing the following game without Anthony Putrus and Pedro Adan who had been red carded in the previous contest. The Chill then went down 2-0 in the first half of their meeting with the Fire prior to a couple of Anthony Putrus goals that salvaged a point. Putrus leads the Chill in scoring with 4 on the season, and Sullivan Silva finally scored a goal in the second game against the Menace.
The Chill need to get 6 points this weekend to keep their playoff hopes alive. “Two wins are not guaranteed against WSA Winnipeg” said Chill head coach Giovanni Petraglia. “We struggled against them during our second match in Winnipeg, and they just beat Chicago last weekend, so nothing is certain against them despite their record. They are a young team, but well organized and well coached,” he commented. “We lost our focus for 15 minutes against the Fire and that cost us 3 points we definitely needed. We cannot afford to do that against Winnipeg” he continued.
WSA Winnipeg was drubbed 6-0 by Des Moines on Tuesday night. Thunder Bay has never lost to WSA at home, and hope that the trend continues this weekend. Both games are at Tbaytel Place at Fort William Stadium on Friday and Saturday nights, with 7:30 pm kickoffs.
