Weekend Preview: Motor City Rockers at Indiana Sentinels

After the 5-2 defeat to the Port Huron Prowlers, the Motor City Rockers record sits at 1-1-1. The Indiana Sentinels come into the series with a 2-2-0 record. Currently the Sentinels sit at the top of the Great Lakes Division with four points.

Last week was an unexpected bye week for Indiana. Originally scheduled to play one game against the Prowlers, President Trump's appearance at McMorran Arena forced the game to be postponed to a later date, giving Indiana the week off, and an early bye week.

When the Rockers took their first road trip to Minnesota, they were greeted by a slew of former Motor City players including Declan Conway, Brad Reitter and Chris Corgan. This trip to Columbus is greeted with a different pair of former Rockers. Sentinels leading scorer Ross Bartlett played 17 games for the Purple and Black, while defensemen Vaughn Clouston suited up for 28 contests with Motor City.

The Indiana Sentinels started out their sophomore campaign with a pair of come from behind wins over the Minnesota Northern Lights. Trailing 2-0 in each of the first two games, Indiana was able to storm back, scoring four and five unanswered goals en route to a pair of victories. Last series, the Sentinels scored just one goal in two matchups against the Topeka Scarecrows, dropping a 2-0 and 2-1 decision out in Kansas.

The line of TJ Sneath, Drew Welsch, and Matteo Ybarra have shown out in a big way this season. Sneath has accumulated four goals in his first three games back with Motor City, while Trenton native Drew Welsch has scored in each of the first three games for the Rockers. While Ybarra hasn't found the back of the net, he has a staggering eight assists in three games

Connor Nagy was given a two game suspension after last Saturday's loss to Port Huron. The Rockers defenseman will miss the two games in Indiana, and per FPHL rules, Motor City will be down a roster spot and only have five defensemen playing on the weekend.

Motor City's schedule is extremely front loaded with road games. Playing just eight of 28 home games before the calendar turns to 2027, the Rockers embark on their first stretch of games away from Wyandotte. The two games against the Sentinels mark the first two of five straight road contests. Next weekend Motor City heads to Danbury for a two game tilt, before a Veterans Day matchup with the Port Huron Prowlers

The official watch party for Friday nights game will be at Latitudes in Wyandotte. Head there for a chance to win merch, and get discounts on your meal. Before you head to Latitudes, make sure you get your Rockers merch at shop.RockersHockey.com. If you can't make it, every game this season is streamed on the Rockers Media Network at youtube.com/@rockersmedianetwork.