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The fate of the Minnesota Thunder's season will be decided this weekend. It comes down to this: win on the road or go home for the winter. Tonight they face Portland; tomorrow it's Seattle.
As it stands now, the Thunder are one point clear of Milwaukee for the fourth and final playoff spot and two points behind Seattle. (Seattle has played one game more than both Milwaukee and Minnesota.) The Thunder could finish anywhere from third to fifth in the Western Conference.
It's been an infuriatingly inconsistent season for the Thunder. After surging to a 10-3-4 record, the team has fallen apart, going 2-2-5 over the last month. The reason for this collapse is not difficult to pinpoint: the Thunder have played painfully bad on the road. Even after Monday's 2-0 victory over the pitiful Emonton Whitecaps, their away record stands at 1-4-7. The last time the Thunder passed through Portland and Seattle they got mauled, 3-0 and 2-0 respectively. Portland is the best team in the west; Seattle has won five straight. Things look grim.
Tonight's game is being shown nationally on Fox Sports World. The Thunder faithful will be gathering at The Local at 10 p.m. to watch. Alas, I will be on the road myself, drinking beer and wrestling bears in the U.P. Hopefully we'll all be back at The Jimmy next weekend for the playoffs.
Come on Thunder.
Posted by Paul Demko at August 27, 2004 10:55 AM