As mentioned by
Elwood Bruise in his play by play recap of the Portland Rosebuds vs I-5's A team, these two teams never fail to disappoint. They lit up the track with exceptional speed, impressive blocking, and jam after jam of action, surprises and strategy that left the crowd agape. At the end of it, Portland came out on top, but it was a 16 point squeaker that I-5 could have pulled out.
The first two jams of the game featured I-5's dynamic jamming duo of Lex Celerator and Dee Stroier. Both were held scoreless, but they almost returned the favor, holding Braidy Punch to zero and allowing Tempest Fugit only one point. That would set the tone for the rest of the game, as each team was playing with close scoring control. 12 of the 46 Jams were scoreless with a further 12 consisting of only one scoring pass. Clearly they both were looking for those big opportunities to score while doing one and done if the opposing jammer was through the pack behind them.
I-5 finally broke into the double digits in the third when Gory Locks managed to get I-5 on the board with an 18-5 scoring run against Portland's Bleeda Ford. Foxy Shazam got a little help from a big hit by Jesus Feist which knocked Gory Locks into a cutting major and opened up a 30 point power jam in the 7th, giving Portland the edge. I-5 wouldn't see the lead again until the second half despite Dee Stroier managing to go on a 14 point tear in the 9th while her blockers held Tempest Fugit back in the pack.
The rest of the half was a back and forth of one and two pass jams with both packs putting on a display of positional teamwork and hitting that should go down in the annals of "doing it right." Jesus Feist and Cheese Grater of despair took it to the I-5 Jammers while Audrey Headburn and Hunt-her Down answered back for I-5. At the end of the half, though, I-5 got the short end of the stick and Portland was ahead 71-53.
As the teams headed out of their halftime huddles, I-5 looked to have a new determination. Dee Stroier quickly took the lead back with a 29-6 differential in the first four jams. I-5 would hold the lead until about halfway through the second half when Dee was sent to the box for cutting, allowing Annaphelactic Shock to get 4 grand slams unopposed. Portland never looked back.
I-5 began the slow climb back and Portland was matching them jam for jam (3-5, 5-5, 4-4) until A-shock put it away in the 18th with an 18 point power play while Liv Vicious sat in the box serving out her term for too many minor penalties. Dee and Lex tried to make it interesting , but their combined 16 points in the final two jams left them 16 short. Portland stood victorious 145-129.
Keys of the game - Jammer Control, scoring control, stamina. In talking to some of the people on the inside of the Rosebuds organization, I found out that they had practiced specifically to cut the effectiveness of the the I-5 speed skating duo of Lex Celerator and Dee Stroier. While Dee did manage to break out a couple of times, they held Lex to a small fraction of her usual scoring. Portland also was very effective at score control by either getting lead and calling it themselves, or making sure their jammer was hot on the heals of the I-5 skaters. Stamina. This bout was high speed start to finish. Portland was racing the pack almost from the get go. It seemed like a 100 lap sprint at times! Toward the end of the game, I-5 was tired and it began to show in mental mistakes adding up to more time in penalties or just plain not being able to focus.
Stars for Portland:
Braidy Punch for her triple threat ways. She scored well on the jammer line and was a part of several key stops through the game, forming 2 and 3 walls which set it up nicely for
Jesus Feist. Feist was a big hit demon this game. Between her and
A-shock they account for more than half of the big hits and key stops on my notes.
Stars for I-5: Dee Stroier stood atop the I-5 scoring this time, but if it weren't for the hard work of
Audrey Headburn and
Hunt-her Down in the pack, this game would have been a blow-out.
All in all, it was a great night of Junior Derby. The bout held a lot of promise and it definitely delivered. I left the bout with a smile on my face, as did every one of the skaters I saw outside. In the end, that's what it's all about.
Final notes: MVPs were given to Dee Stroier and Braidy Punch, and a special thanks to
Southgate Roller Rink owner, Erin, for donating her half of the 50/50 raffle winnings back to I-5.
