What a season it was!

A few weekends ago, 4 teams met in the final tournament of the 2011 NW Junior Derby season.  It was a very fun day with the initial round as full 1 hour games, and then the final round had 30 minute games to decide the final placing of the teams. 

Yes, I know this update is really, really late.  Life is.

Game 1 – Galaxy Girls v Reservoir Dolls

The first game saw the SDB Galaxy Girls vs. the ECJG Reservoir Dolls.  It was a crazy back and forth bout that came down to the final jam as these two teams battled it out.  The reservoir Dolls looked in fine for as they got out to a 5 point lead in the first, but credit has to be given to Flyin’ Hawaiian and Evil O of the Galaxy Girls as they held a power jam to a very low score and forced a back blocking penalty on Roma Mafia which sprang Poison Izzie back out of the box thereby limiting the damage the amazing Roma Mafia could do.

SDB handed the star to Random Max of Violence with Roma still in the box, but the Reservoir Dolls knew this dance.  They held firm in the pack and raced ahead, forcing Max to catch up.  She seemed a little shaken up at the end of the jam when she called it just as Roma was released and only had 5 points up on the board, tying the score at 9.

The third jam saw Neal Cassady and Mal Intent on the jammer line.  When the whistle blew, they were both off to the races.  Mal blasted through for lead jammer, but was promptly sent off for an out of bounds block which allowed Neal to rattle off a 14 point run.

The rest of the game was very similar.  Extremely tough defense was played by both teams holding most jams to single digits with the occasional beak-out jam.  Lilly Lightning had an amazing 30 point jam halfway through the second half which gave the Galaxy Girls their only lead in the game, but it was answered immediately in the next jam by Roma Mafia’s 25 points.  While SDB struggled back to seemingly tie in the final seconds of the final jam, 134-134 there was a scoring correction to what was on the board.  When it was all totaled out, the Reservoir Dolls stood triumphant 140-134.

Game 2 – I5 Rollergirls v Rosebuds

Game two of the day saw the I5 Rollergirls facing a team who had already beaten them twice this past season, the Rose City Rosebuds.  In the first 5 jams of the game, it looked like the Rosebuds were going to do it again.  They held I5 to 0’s and single digits while putting up some big numbers of their own, including a 20 point jam by Sumthang Sassy which had Portland in the lead 51-21.  But, as we know, I-5 cannot ever be counted out and Lex Celerator is a force to be reckoned with.
In the 7^th jam, she blasted through the pack for lead, and then took advantage of Bleeda Ford’s trip to the box to rattle off a 24 point jam behind the timely blocking of Hunt-Her Down, Rage-E-Anna, Audrey Headburn and Gory Locks. 

While I-5 played 4 and out derby over the next few jams to take the lead thanks to a grand slam single pass by Hunt-Her-Down, it was that 24 point explosion which seemed to break the backs of the Rosebuds.  They fought every point, but I-5 was just plain on today. They began to play the strong, strategic derby which made them so formidable last season and I-5 was not able to break through for lead often enough to throttle things back.  At the end of the game, I5 stood tall with a 170-144 victory over their 2011 nemesis.

Game 3 (3^rd - 4^th place final) – SDB Galaxy Girls v Rose City Rosebuds

As mentioned earlier, the final games of the day were only 30 minute affairs to decide the final placing for the trophies (some really cool trophies, hand made by Chris Hunter). 

The Galaxy Girls had lost their first one in the final jam and the Rosebuds were just off a stinging loss to I5.  Both teams had something to prove and the first minutes of this bout showed it.  At the end of the third jam the score was 2-3 in favor of SDB.

The jamming corps of Lilly Lightning, Random Max of Violence and Poison Izzie then poured on the heat getting out to a 32-15 lead before the Rosebuds managed to find the brakes and slow things down.  They held SDB scoreless over three jams while putting up 24 points of their own (8 points each for Foxy Shazam, Scream Cheese and Kathleen Hannibal) to take the lead 39-32.
They didn’t hold it long, though.  After a few hard fought jams which showed little movement on the scoreboard, Lilly Lightning blasted through once again for a 21 point jam which had the Galaxy Girls back on top 58-43. 

Two jams later, Foxy Shazam brought the Rosebuds back to within striking distance with a 13 point run of her own and Scream Cheese snagged the lead back in the next jam 61-60.  Bleeda Ford and Lilly Lightning traded fours to set up a 65-64 final jam.  Lilly Lightning kept the jammer lid on her head and answered the call, scoring 9 points to Portland’s 5 and securing a third place finish for the Galaxy Girls!

Game 4 (Championship bout) – I5 Rollergirls v ECJG Reservoir Dolls

The final game of the day featured some incredibly physical play.  The Reservoir Dolls saw the lead in the first two jams while holding I-5 scoreless, but Lex Celerator broke through the tough walls and speeding pack of the Dolls to post up 8 to take the lead.  She would combine with hunt-Her-Down and Liv Vicious for a 16-3 tear which gave I-5 the lead for good.

This game was all about the pack work.  I-5 was able to get through to score more often, but both of these teams should be proud of their blockers.  Rattle Skate was, as usual, a phenomenal force.  She slapped the pivot stripe on her lid 10 times and led her team to some amazing play.  Hunt-Her-Down and her packs answered right back, holding the Dolls’ jammers nearly scoreless while I-5 built the lead to 48-11.

Spunkee Bruizer had had enough.  A 20 point jam later, her team was right back in the game, only trailing by 16 points.  Unfortunately, the next three jams were all I-5 with a 16-0 run.  Killa Kandy made an amazing effort for a 14-0 power jam in the final minute, but in the end it was I5 taking the victory lap with a 68-52 final.

These 4 teams were amazing to watch during the tourney, and I greatly enjoyed watching all 5 teams who competed in this first “season”.  I want to thank all of the teams who I travelled to see, all of the NSO’s who patiently allowed me to peruse their sheets and for all of the photographers who graciously allowed me to use their images in this blog.  It was a great run, and I am very much looking forward to next year!

I also want to thank everyone who gave me an opportunity to announce.  I really do enjoy it, and I tend to think I am getting MUCH better than I was when I started a little over a year ago... at least I seem to be getting a lot more people actually complimenting me on it ;)

Through the off season, I will be writing some articles and I will have a break from the featured skater after I post up the one for August.  Biggest thing coming?  I have been asking for some feedback from folks about “who would you pick for an all-star team.”  Basically: take 3 girls from each of the 5 teams, then one other from any of the teams to form a 16 skater roster.  It’s an interesting experiment as I get the feedback from various individuals. 

Interested in sending your feedback in?  You can send it to me through the email in my profile here!