Champ Pain kicked off the fun for Kitsap in the second half, snagging lead jammer from Anaphylactic Shock but was unable to overcome the Rosebud defense while missing two of her blockers due to trips to the sin bin. She was outscored 2-7 as Portland took advantage of the short Kitsap lineup. The second jam had Red Rager taking a 3 grand slam advantage right back for Kitsap as Bleeda Ford was sent off for an out of bounds block after gaining lead and scoring 4 on the first pass.
At this point the Rosebuds repeated their first half performance with 7 straight lead jammers, but Kitsap had heard that song before and held them each to one scoring pass with some extremely quick and agile pack skating and an impressive display of positional blocking. It wasn’t until Anaphylactic Shock managed to outrun J-Rowdy in the 8th jam for a 14-0 advantage and Sumthang Sassy had a 10 point power play run (Speedy Foul Mouth-Her was sent off for cutting the track) that Portland managed to break that pattern… but not for long!
Other than an amazing 22 point power play jam by Braidy Punch when Speedy was sent off for her 6th major penalty and Sumthang Sassy brought in 10 on a power play of her own in 16th (and second to last) jam of the half, it was nearly all Derby Brats! Red Rager, Mutch Mayhem, Hardley Sane and Punches –n-Cream combined for 27 points in 6 jams for a very bright offensive finish for the Brats. Final Score: Portland 215, Kitsap 96
New skaters to watch
Moving from year to year in junior derby, there can be a lot of churn in team rosters. As I mentioned in my last post, both the Rosebuds and Kitsap have added to their rosters this year. As we go through the games this season, I will be calling out the new skaters who I feel are the ones to watch out for in the future. For this bout, that would be Sumthang Sassy and Speedy Foul Mouth-Her.
Kitsap - While Speedy had some serious trouble with penalties (She fouled out in the 16th jam of the second half), she showed some very definite sparks of brilliance. Her tenacity and aggression on the track were a sight to behold and will definitely serve her team well if she can learn to focus it JUST a tad better to avoid hurting her team with time in the box.
Portland - Sumthang Sassy? Speed, poise, grace under fire. She’s a little small which becomes a disadvantage since she seems to still be getting her bearings in a hostile pack, but when she broke free she was awesome. She was the Kitsap choice for MVP and was awarded a beautiful, jeweled tiara for it! She’s my choice for Portland’s new skater to watch.
Hail to the veterans
Kitsap – this one is a toss-up. While Mutch Mayhem (as always) was great to watch as a jammer, Red Rager was truly a triple threat on the track. I am going to give my nod to both of them!
Portland – While I would be remiss not to call out Braidy’s 22 point jam, I have to hand this one to Scream Cheese. Big hits, stops, holes opened, great jams. All in all a well-rounded skater that will be the terror of the teams she faces this season!
Keys of the game - Portland's defense. Straight up, that wall is formidable. Combined with their improvements in the positional game it is going to be tough to beat! While the lead jam numbers were fairly even through the bout (21 for Portland, 16 for Kitsap), the Rosebuds were able to stop Kitsap from scoring.
I really had a blast at this bout. Great derby played by two dedicated and tenacious teams. As I mentioned to one Kitsap skater, “Don’t let the score fool you! There were good things happening!” I would like to thank the Portland NSO crew for being forthcoming with the stat sheets. They were invaluable in creating this blog! As always, a huge thank you to all of the refs, NSO’s, parents, coaches and other volunteers. Without all of you, Junior Derby would be going nowhere fast!
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