With Eric Oncins unavailable for one of the weekend’s matches, the rest of the roster carried the load in the final regular-season stop.
Every season hands a team a weekend it did not plan for. Chicago was the Ranchers’.
Eric Oncins — the club’s most reliable point-getter all year — missed one of the weekend’s matches, and a lineup built around his availability had to be redrawn on short notice. Texas rallied regardless, leaving the final regular-season event with 6 standings points and its postseason position intact.
Depth is the least glamorous thing a roster can have and the most valuable in a format like this one. Chicago was the proof: the Ranchers did not have their full hand and still found a way to bank points that mattered when the playoff seeding was drawn.
Next stop: the postseason.
