As I mentioned in my last post, the first part of the evening was taken up by the "senior" squads. I-5 Rollergirls A-team and Junior Gems' Reservoir Dolls squared off in a full bout, and what a bout it was! Crushing defense, explosive offense, a 37 point jam (37 points!) and a 67 point lead demolished in 7 jams. It was one of the most exciting games I have seen! If this is what we have to look forward to this season, it's going to be awesome!
The crowd buzzed as the teams were introduced, exploding into cacophony as the home team, The Reservoir Dolls took the floor. Not only was it the first travel team bout of the season for both of these leagues, but it was the final bout for Reservoir Dolls veteran, Twilight Temptation.
Roma Mafia started things off for the Reservoir Dolls, snagging lead Jammer and a quick 4 over I-5 powerhouse Lex Celerator. Twilight Temptation then took the Jammer line against another formidable jammer in Dee Stroir and managed to not only gain lead jammer, but lap her for a grand slam. The Reservoir Dolls pack was present; Spunkee Bruiser, Sinister Attraction, Neal Cassidy and Rattle Skate handled Dee, only allowing her one point on her second pass.
Smash Ketchum and Dee Stroir gained lead jam in the next two for I-5, but were each held to four points. TinkerHell managed to outscore Smash with 5 points while not lead, and Budha Thunder added one point to the tally for Eugene.
Roma Mafia and Smash Ketchum squared off next and Roma was sent off to the box for cutting the track after scoring 4 on her second pass. With no lead jammer on the track, Liv Vicious had an opportunity to make up some of the gap, but the penalty killing of Violet No-Regard, Mini 2 Skates, Tinkerhell and Psycho Crash held her to 3 points after an initial grand slam.
Smash Ketchum and Black Bubbles met each other behind the pack and were off on the second whistle. Smash got caught for back blocking and was sent to the box. She wasn't alone for long as Bubbles scored 3 and joined her for a cutting infraction. Smash was back on the track but had no luck trying to get past a formidable wall of Budha Thunder and Rattle Skate. Bubbles came back on the track after serving the same time Smash did, but ran hard into Lip SmackHer and Kitty Clawberator, back blocking her way into another minute.
Still having no luck, Smash cut the track trying to get around Rattle Skate and was sent off as the jam ended. She would spend most of the next two jams in the box, cutting the track again in the next jam, allowing Spunkee Bruiser and Twilight Temptation to gain 16 unanswered points.
I-5's Liv Vicious and Dee Stroir then gained 3 lead jams in a row, but the Reservoir Dolls jammers were hot on their heals and each jam ended nearly scoreless, Dee managing to score 4 point before being forced to call it off in the 11th.
From then on, I-5 began having some problems. The Reservoir Dolls got 5 lead jams in a row over I-5 and outscored them 35-4. It was pretty clear; the Dolls were serious. Liv Vicious, Dee Stroir and Lex Celerator managed to get 28 points back in the final minutes of the half, but the damage was done. Looking at their bench, they were stunned. I-5 was down 81-58 at the half.
I am not sure what coaches Nasty Niki and Trixxxie had to say to the girls during half time, but the team that came back out was ready to roll. I-5 had made up bigger deficits in the past, but what was coming was going to be tougher still.
Spunkee Bruiser got sent to the box and Dee Stroir rolled for three grand slams to start the half, the lead was cut down to size. During her next pass she was sent in herself, setting up a power play on the next jam. She had one blocker in the box with her.
Then Roma Mafia did the impossible. In a perfect storm of pack play both offensive and defensive, I-5 penalties, and some incredible skating, she had a 37 point jam. Their lead was secure. They would grow it to 67 points over the next several jams. Halfway through the second half, the mountain was looking insurmountable for I-5, but if there is anything I learned watching this team last year, it was never to count them out.
Dee Stroir, Liv Vicious and Lex Celerator were unstoppable. Reservoir Dolls were bouncing off of them in an effort to get them off the track. Key blocks by the I-5 pack created openings where none seemed to be and the speedsters were off. Dee finally gained the lead 193-179 with 30 seconds left.
The entire crowd was cheering as Lex Celearator took the line in what was surely the final jam. She blasted through the pack for lead jammer and called it... with 15 seconds left on the clock!
Roma Mafia and Lex Celerator lined up again, the crowd cheering louder still. The whistle blew and Lex was off like a shot. She was making her way through the pack, when a cutting 4th minor sent her to the box! Roma Mafia had a power play and took full advantage for 4 grand slams, regaining the lead and called it for a Reservoir Dolls win!
Final score 199-193 for the Reservoir Dolls.
Keys of the game - Jamming. An incredibly high scoring game was helped along by some incredible jamming from both teams. On the I-5 squad it was Dee Stroir, Liv Vicious and Lex Celerator. For Reservoir Dolls it was Roma Mafia, Twilight Temptation and Neal Cassidy. I definitely have to say that Roma's 37 point jam, some really good blocking from Rattle Skate, Spunkee Bruiser and Budha Thunder keeping the I-5 jammers from doing too much damage for a very long time along with some extremely rare mistakes from I-5 at the end of the bout combined to hand the win to Eugene.
A huge thanks to both I-5 and the Junior Gems for being so accommodating with rosters beforehand and stats afterward. Also a huge thank you to Twilights mom, The Muffinator for doing stats right next to me so we could ask each other questions as things flew by and we missed a key stat.
Awesome bout! Next ones are in about a month as I-5 and Kitsap meet in Everett and Portland comes to Seattle to take on the Galaxy Girls both on March 26th.. how am I going to cover my own home team? I think I need to find a guest blogger!
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