Galaxy Girls take win over Reservoir Dolls in hard fought bout!

Photo by Wyatte Wood

The picture above says it all.  The Galaxy Girls and Reservoir Dolls met last night at the Southgate Roller Rink in Seattle in what promised to be a well fought bout.  These two teams definitely delivered on that promise.

The bout started out fairly slowly, each team being incredibly stingy on the points.  It was clear that they were both going to fight it out in the pack, and this was going to be about playing a physical game.  For the next hour, it was big hits, big misses and penalty timers with plenty to do.

In the first half, it was SDB having trouble.  Their jammer spent quite a bit of time sitting down, and, as we know, you can't score from the box!  Reservoir dolls had plenty of opportunities at power jams, but the Galaxy Girls had some awesome penalty killing going on. 

Rather than do what we have seen from most teams this season, and racing the pack, Coach Betty opted for stopping their jammers in the pack.  And boy, howdy were those jammers stopped!  Killa Candy, Roma Mafia and Tinker Hell made up the core of the Reservoir jammer rotation (Spunkee Bruizer started the game, but ended up out due to medical issues), and none of the three seemed to find the magic bullet which would slay the Galaxy pack.  Halftime showed the results: 52-47 Reservoir Dolls.

The second half showed the tables turned, and the Dolls were really hurt by penalties.  Jammers were being called off often, but it was mostly in the pack that the Galaxy Girls found themselves with an advantage of one or two for most jams.  Rattle Skate and Neal Cassady spet a lot of time sitting, allowing the Galaxy Girls an easier time to create the openings for their jammers. (Rattle Skate actually got her 7th penalty right at the end of the bout, but the time wound down before the ejection occured). 

Random Max of Violence, Rockin Red and Lilly Lightning started the jammer duties, but Flyin' Hawaiian got her lick in, too and the Galaxy Girls blasted out to a 30 point lead.  But this is roller derby!  Fortunes can change quickly, and they often do. The Dolls battled back to within 15 points and 15 minutes into the second half saw Neal Cassady slap on the star and rattle off a magnificent jam which gave the lead back to Eugene.  They extended the lead a bit, but then SDB threw Whamsday Addams (Borrowed from the Kitsap Derby Brats... I still say she looks good in black! ;) ), Lilly Lightning and Flyin' Hawaiian into several quick 4 and out series which saw that lead evaporate.  Once the Galaxy Girls got the lead this time, they would not let it go.  In the end, they skated the victory lap with the scoreboard showing 142-107

3 stars for Eugene:

Rattle Skate - Once again, she is a force to be reckoned with in the pack.  She may have gotten enough penalties to foul out, but those penalties came because she was in there fighting it out.  Every time I see her play, I just know I am seeing a future star blocker!

Neal Cassady - She was a force in the pack, but it was the awesome power jam that brought her team back into the game which has her in this list.  Before that jam, the Dolls were beginning to sit a little lower in their chairs.  After that jam, they were back on the edges of their seats.  She not only brought back the lead, she brought her team back, too.

Killa Candy - This kid has heart.  She got beat up in the pack quite a bit, but she always got back on her feet and kept going.  To me, she exemplified a lot of what I love about junior derby.  More than points scored or lead jams (and she had her share of both), there's something more that these girls bring to the track.  Killa has it, and there are no stats which track it.

3 stars for the Galaxy Girls:

Lilly Lightning - Lilly was extremely consistent on the jammer line and truly helped lead her team to victory.  She has been out with an injury for a while, so it was good to see her out there once again with a C on her shoulder. 

Flyin' Hawaiian - While I don't have the stats for hits, actions or errors, I am betting Flyin' Hawaiian would be high on the list of big hitters.  Straight off the jammer line, in the pack, jammer stopping, hole opening big hits were her bread and butter last night.  As I said on the mic (yes, I was announcing again), "Thank you for Flyin' Hawaiian!"

Random Max of Violence - Elbows akimbo, legs in every which direction and a body that is seemingly made of spaghetti, Max made her way through the pack and beat solo blockers all night.  She was definitely on her A game jamming.  The moves this skater can make are far from your traditional juke and jive moves, she uses subtler subterfuge of a different type.  Her fakes seem to come from her whole body as she will shape her self around her opponents.  It's awesome fun to watch!

So there you have it: the end of the regular season games for NW Junior Derby.  Next stop is Eugene on August 6th, where it looks like we'll be having a tourney setup with starting bouts drawn from a hat because we are all so evenly matched this year!  With this bout, 3 teams are now 2-2 and every team has at least one victory.  One thing is for certain, this region has some of the best Roller Derby in the nation on the adult level, and the juniors are following suit.