Feb 18, 2014 | Bout News

All-Stars Retaliate Against Team United 304-69

By: Fire Wally

The Minnesota RollerGirls All-Stars won a decisive victory against Team United Women’s Roller Derby Saturday night during the second half of the Seeing Double Header event with the Minnesota Swarm. Minnesota took advantage of penalty-shortened Team United packs to open up a substantial lead in the first half that got wider in the second. The win avenges the All-Stars’ defeat to Team United in December in Des Moines and gives Minnesota fans plenty to be excited about for the 2014 season.

First Half

Harmony Killerbruise earned lead jammer for Minnesota in the first jam of the bout, but was followed closely out of the pack by Team United jammer SiNister SuNami. SuNami delivered a powerful hip check to force Harmony to call off the jam, but was sent to the penalty box for cutting the track as the jam ended. That set up a power jam opportunity for Minnesota jammer Slambda Phage on the next jam. Minnesota blockers held passive offense formation while Phage stretched out the Team United wall for two complete scoring passes, but on the next pass Phage slipped into the wall of Team United blockers and was called to the penalty box on a low blocking penalty. That released SiNister SuNami from the penalty box, but she was held on her initial pass by a chase-and-hit-out move by Hurtrude Stein and relentless recycling by MEDUSA, Diamond Rough, and Shiver Me Kimbers. SuNami snuck through the “Aqua and Army” Minnesota wall easily on her first scoring pass, however, making the score 13-5 Minnesota with 26 minutes left in the first half.

Both teams added 3 points on the next jam, followed by a 2-point jam from Harmony to make it 18-8 when Fannie Tanner lined up against SiNister SuNami and pushed against competing four-walls. SuNami alternated pushes to the inside, then outside of the pack to bring the wall past 10-feet in front of the Team United blockers, forcing a no-pack call and earning lead jammer. During the no-pack, two Team United blockers and two Minnesota blockers were assigned penalties for pack destruction and blocking out of play, so when SuNami scored a five-point pass and called off the jam, both packs started the next jam short. Slambda Phage took advantage of the short pack to earn a quick 5 points on the next jam, followed by a 4-point jam from Harmony Killerbruise. On the next jam, Team United blockers Lolli Pop Ya and Cripplin Calamity worked together to push Crowella de Vil to the outside and then recycle her to the back of the pack, buying time for SuNami to score 2, making the score 27-14 Minnesota with 18 minutes remaining in the half.

A penalty by Team United jammer Vyolent GriMm in the initial pass gave Slambda Phage a power jam opportunity on the next Jam, amplified by a Minnesota pack advantage caused by Team United blockers’ direction-of-play penalties. As Team United blockers pushed Phage to the outside, she put down a plant foot to absorb the hit and remain in-play and scoring. On Phage’s last scoring pass, Diamond Rough delivered a huge hit on the backwards-facing Miss ConGeeniality , sending her to the ground and clearing the way for Phage to finish her 25-point jam. On the next jam, Minnesota jammer Harmony Killerbruise was sent to the penalty box, but LoLo Gunz, new jammer to Team United’s arsenal, called off the jam to send out the veteran Lolli Pop Ya on the next jam.

Lolli made a quick initial pass and first scoring pass, but on her second pass, Second Hand Smoke pushed her to the outside while Diamond Rough ran backwards to draw a track cut penalty as Lolli reentered the track. That earned Harmony a minute unopposed, where she used speed and lateral moves to rack up four complete scoring passes and 20 points. Vyolent GriMm pinballed through the pack on the next jam for lead jammer while Lolli forced Slambda Phage out and around the pack, but committed a back blocking penalty on her next scoring pass to open up an opportunity for Phage to score 16, making the score 87-31 Minnesota with 10 minutes left in the half.

LoLo Gunz notched the Team United score up 2 points on the next jam, followed by 1 more point from Crazy Daizy, which set up a Miss ConGeeniality jam against Second Hand Smoke. Smoke was called on a back blocking penalty on her first scoring pass, giving Miss ConGeeniality a power jam. Miss ConGeeniality took advantage of a chaotic Minnesota pack with blockers leaving and returning to the track from penalties and juked her way to 15 points making the score 90-49 Minnesota with 5 minutes remaining in the half.

LoLo Gunz started alone on the jammer line for Team United on the next jam, but MEDUSA pushed her to the infield and drew a cutting the track penalty, giving Second Hand Smoke a turn on a power jam. SiNister SuNami and Vyolent GriMm teamed up to hold Smoke with backwards-facing blocking and hockey-stop digs, but Smoke made deliberate forward progress on each scoring pass to score 15 points on the power jam, making the score 105-53 for Minnesota with 2 minutes remaining in the half. Phage, Harmony, and Crow each notched up Minnesota’s score as the half drew to a close, ending at 115-53 Minnesota.

Second Half

The Minnesota RollerGirls All-Stars were ahead throughout the first half, but they were absolutely dominant in the second. The penalty trouble that started in the first half for Team United continued into the second half, with clockwise blocking and blocking out of play penalties dominating the list of infractions that caused consistent pack advantages for Minnesota. SiNister SuNami and later Snot Face fouled out on accumulated penalties, depriving Team United of some of their strongest blockers for the latter part of the second half. Harmony, Phage, and Crow were the main jamming threat for Minnesota, but Fannie Tanner, L’exi Cuter, Second Hand Smoke, and MEDUSA also put in strong jamming performances in the half.

The best example of the All-Stars’ dominance in the game came when they denied Team United their best scoring opportunity of the second half after Slambda Phage was sent to the penalty box for blocking with the head. LoLo Gunz started the next jam alone on the track with Phage still in the box, but Second Hand Smoke, Diamond Rough, Crust Almighty, and Shiver Me Kimbers employed tenacious blocking and careful bridges to delay Team United’s jammer and hold her to only 4 points on the power jam.

That combination of fast, agile jamming and solid teamwork by blocking lines led to a run-up in the score by Minnesota in the second half, culminating in earning lead jammer in all of the final 10 jams of the game. Minnesota outscored Team United 189-16 in the second half, making the final score 304-69 and providing a satisfying start to the All-Stars’ 2014 season.

Box Scores

Thanks to Our Man Flip

MINNESOTA — 304 Points
27 Lead Jams
10 Power Jams
181 Points From Power Jams
45 Grand Slams
26 Jam Wins
28 Team Penalties

22 Slambda Phage — 7-12 LJ, 127 pts
9 Second Hand Smoke — 3-4 LJ, 69 pts
75 Harmony Killerbruise — 10-13 LJ, 59 pts
101 Crowella De Vil — 3-4 LJ, 31 pts
2 Fannie Tanner — 1-3 LJ, 8 pts
187 L’exi Cuter — 2-2 LJ, 6 pts
13 Medusa — 1-1 LJ, 4 pts

TEAM UNITED — 69 Points
12 Lead Jams
5 Power Jams
37 Points From Power Jams
7 Grand Slams
6 Jam Wins
45 Team Penalties

16 Mizz ConGeenialty — 1-9 LJ, 19 pts
45 Lolo Gunz — 5-10 LJ, 13 pts
57 SiNister SuNami — 2-4 LJ, 11 pts
2 Lolli Pop Ya — 1-1 LJ, 10 pts
11 Crazy Daizy — 2-9 LJ, 9 pts
1134 Vyolent Grimm — 1-4 LJ, 7 pts
515 Wicked Red — 0-1 LJ, 0 pts
422 Snot Face — 0-1 LJ, 0 pts