Slaughter to take its game outdoors for IFL history

The Chicago Slaughter, which calls the Sears Centre Arena its home turf, is about to make history again, but this time outside.

The Slaughter (6-5) will travel to Rochester, N.Y., this weekend to play the Rochester Raiders (8-4) in the first-ever outdoor game in the history of the Indoor Football League.

The Raiders will host the Slaughter at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at Marina Auto Stadium. Both clubs won football titles in the CIFL before joining the IFL. The Slaughter went undefeated in winning its title in 2009, and the Raiders did the same in 2007.

The roughly 17,000 seat Marina Auto Stadium is home to soccer and lacrosse clubs in Rochester and features a jumbotron.

The Buffalo Sabers and Chicago Blackhawks have both played in the outdoor Winter Classic contests in the NHL, and now two indoor football teams from Chicago and the New York area will give the outdoor game a try.

In a tightly packed North Division race, the head coach Steve McMichael's Slaughter and the Bloomington Extreme trail the first-place Green Bay Blizzard (7-4) by one game.

After beating the Blizzard in Hoffman Estates two weeks ago for the second time this season, the Slaughter erupted with an 83-49 victory over the West Michigan ThunderHawks (5-6) last weekend, breaking the Indoor Football League scoring record and getting back into playoff contention.

"We are peaking at the right time with our offense and defense hitting on all cylinders," Slaughter general manager Alan Perkins said. "Our team is 6-2 in our last eight games and we have a real shot at winning our division. We're a strong playoff contender."

After playing Rochester, the Slaughter will play the LaCrosse Spartans for their last home game of the regular season at 7:05 p.m. June 12 at the Sears Centre Arena.

For more information or for tickets, call (847) 310-3190 or visit ChicagoSlaughter.com.