Apr 29, 2024 | Bout News

Roll for Critical Hit Bout Recap

Bout 1: Minnesota Nice vs. Arch Nemesis

The first bout of the night pitted Minnesota Nice (#27 NA Northeast) against Arch Rival Roller Derby’s Nemesis (#17 NA Northeast). Entering the bout, Arch Nemesis led the all-time series 4-2. The St. Louis-based Nemesis showed their physicality early, with excellent blocking allowing Skeevie Nicks to put up a 12-0 opening jam. Minnesota got on the board in the next jam courtesy of three points from Shadoux, but Malibruiser Barbie scored 7 of her own to extend Arch’s lead to 19-3. Another long, grueling jam followed, as it took T-Wrecks over a minute to secure Minnesota’s first lead jam of the night. She scored 7 to put a dent into the Nemesis lead, then a single point from BooBoo in the next jam cut the lead down to 8 points. 

Skeevie Nicks attempted to right the ship for Arch Rival in the following jam, racing out to a lead, but was assessed a penalty to give Little Rascal a Minnesota power jam. Little Rascal briefly tied the score at 19, but Skeevie Nicks eventually left the box and secured an even jam at 12-12. 12 more followed from Malibruiser Barbie, but Lefse 4 Dead was held scoreless and could not prevent the Nemesis from extending the lead to 20 points. A quick 3-0 response by Wheelie Nelson attempted to start a Minnesota run, but the teams then traded 1-0 jams before a 3-0 jam from Malibruiser Barbie re-established Arch Rival’s 20-point lead. 

By this point, the teams had renounced the long, grinding style of the first few jams and instead switched to a quicker game. This remained apparent during two lead jams for Minnesota: first, Lefse 4 Dead outscored Ultraviolet 3-2, then Wheelie Nelson secured a quick 2-0 jam over M Squared. The next jam was even shorter, as T-Wrecks raced to a lead before being caught by Skeevie Nicks. The jammers collided, with Skeevie Nicks passing T-Wrecks and forcing a call-off at 0-0. After that, though, a jam reminiscent of the early portion of the bout occurred, as Malibruiser Barbie secured a tough 8-0 jam. In that jam – the bout’s 14th – Minnesota passed the star, the first star pass since the second jam of the night. 

The next jam was a return to normalcy, as Ultraviolet and Little Rascal settled for a point each, bringing the score to 58-33 in favor of Arch Rival. One more quick jam followed, as Lefse 4 Dead outscored M Squared 4-2. Minnesota finally exploded for a big jam after that, as Wheelie Nelson put up an 11-0 score to cut Arch Rival’s lead to 12 points. After the jam, though, Arch Rival called for an official review, alleging that Wheelie Nelson had stepped out of bounds on a scoring pass. She was ruled in-bounds, costing Arch their review, but the officials’ long deliberation gave the Nemesis a much-needed reset. 

Needing a response to turn the tide back in Arch Rival’s favor, Malibruiser Barbie duly obliged, putting up a 16-0 jam to take the lead up to 76-48. Arch continued the momentum after that, with Ultraviolet scoring 4 before M Squared scored 8 to take a 40-point lead for the Nemesis. One jam remained in the half, and Skeevie Nicks put an exclamation point on it with another 8-0 jam to bring the halftime score to 96-48. The Nemesis – pivoted by Sheesh, Slaythoven, and Regrets – held Minnesota scoreless for the final four jams of the half.

Arch Nemesis picked up right where they left off to begin the second half. Malibruiser Barbie got them started with a 1-0 jam before Skeevie Nicks took advantage of a Wheelie Nelson penalty to score 12 and extend the lead to 109-48. Despite starting the next jam in the box, Wheelie Nelson broke the string of Arch lead jams, but failed to score after being hit while entering the pack. Minnesota Nice finally got back on the board in the next jam, with T-Wrecks scoring the team’s first points in 8 jams. Her 4 were unable to do any meaningful damage, though, as Malibruiser Barbie answered with an 8-0 jam to re-establish Arch’s dominance. Skeevie Nicks followed with a 4-0 jam to bring the Nemesis lead up to 121-52. 

Ultraviolet then secured another lead jam for the Nemesis, but lost that for being sent to the box and giving Lefse 4 Dead a power jam. The two jammers split that jam, 8-8. A solid jam for Minnesota followed, as Wheelie Nelson scored 12 points. The MNRD blocking was also superb, forcing Arch Rival to pass the star for the first time all night. After receiving the star, Regrets scored 3 points, taking the score to 132-72. However, as with every big jam for Minnesota, they were unable to follow it up with more. Malibruiser Barbie scored 4 on a tremendous apex jump before Skeevie Nicks answered with 4 of her own, bringing the Arch Rival lead to 140-72. 

Ultraviolet continued Arch’s run with a 6-0 jam, then M Squared ground out a 4-0 jam to give the Nemesis a 78-point advantage. The following jam was called off due to an injury to Malibruiser Barbie after she had scored 3 points. She left the bout and did not return, finishing with 62 points and a perfect 9-for-9 on lead jams. The next jam started off slow and physical – including a penalty to Arch jammer Skeevie Nicks – but after a minute of jammers stuck in the pack, Lefse 4 Dead secured lead jammer and the jam opened up. It finished 8-8, taking the score to 161-80 in favor of the Nemesis. Another long jam followed, as Ultraviolet fought her way to a 4-0 jam to further extend the lead.

In the next jam, Wheelie Nelson proved why she was Minnesota Nice’s silver lining of the bout, adding 7 points to her team-high 38 and bringing the team back within 80. A no pass/no penalty situation on Skeevie Nicks’s initial pass caused the next jam to go the full 2 minutes, with Skeevie Nicks outscoring T-Wrecks 15-4 in the process. After that, the same thing happened again on Ultraviolet’s initial pass, necessitating a 2-minute jam that would end the bout. Ultraviolet outscored Lefse 4 Dead 11-3 to take the final score to 191-94 in favor of Arch Nemesis. 94 points was the fewest Minnesota Nice had scored in a bout since June 8, 2019, when they also put up 94 against the Windy City Rollers’ Second Wind. 

Bout 2: Minnesota All-Stars vs. California Derby Galaxy

The second and final bout featured the Minnesota Roller Derby All-Stars (#6 NA Northeast) taking on the Supernovas from California Derby Galaxy (#10 NA West, #17 GUR). Despite the Supernovas’ short history, the two teams had met once before, with Minnesota taking a 151-135 win in October 2022. California looked to exact revenge for that, but Minnesota scored the first points of the bout courtesy of a 4-0 jam by Lexi Cuter. Zoetrope answered with a 3-0 jam for California, then Sunny Daze put the Supernovas ahead 8-7 with a grinding 4-0 jam. 

The lead didn’t last long, as Sintripetal Force responded with 4 points before calling off the jam with Galaxy jammer Hannah Morley in the box, setting up a power jam opportunity for Ginger Snap. Ginger Snap quickly secured lead jammer, but was held up on her second pass. Eventually, she was sent to the box, giving Hannah Morley a power jam. She scored 7, but so did Ginger Snap, which kept Minnesota in the lead, 15-14. 

Near the end of the jam, Hannah Morley was sent to the box yet again, giving Minnesota another power jam. This time, Lexi Cuter electrified the crowd with a 15-0 jam, extending the MNRD lead to 16 points. Wrecks responded with 3 points for California in the following jam, but Minnesota began to take over after that. It started with Chippa Tooth running over a California skater en route to a 4-0 jam, then Sintripetal Force and Ginger Snap followed with 4-0 jams of their own. That took Minnesota’s lead to 42-17, and they weren’t done yet. They continued the run as Lexi Cuter high-stepped her way through the pack to secure lead and an eventual 3-0 jam, then Bri Zuss sent the crowd into a frenzy with an 11-0 exclamation point to bring the Minnesota lead to 56-17. 

Sunny Daze finally stopped the bleeding in the following jam, securing lead and 3 points, but Chippa Tooth kept pace and actually outscored her with 4 of her own. The next jam was similar for California, as Hannah Morley became lead jammer and scored 8 points, but she was assessed a penalty, and Sintripetal Force scored 14 on the power jam to keep increasing MNRD’s lead. Ginger Snap followed with an 8-0 jam to bring Minnesota’s lead to a palindromic 82-28. With the Supernovas needing something to get back some momentum, Zoetrope attempted to fire up her team with an apex jump and a 10-4 jam, but that swing appeared to be fleeting. Bri Zuss answered with an 8-0 jam despite being sent to the box, with the Minnesota blocking holding Sunny Daze scoreless while she was on the power jam. That jam brought the hosts’ lead up to 94-38. 

Wrecks followed by bowling over a teammate to emerge from the pack as lead jammer, but she was held to 3 points before calling off the jam. Sintripetal Force then erupted with a 12-0 jam for Minnesota, one in which Zoetrope was assessed a late penalty to give MNRD a power jam. Ginger Snap began the next jam as the only jammer on the track, but she eventually relinquished lead jammer while being sent to the box herself. She was outscored by Zoetrope 12-7, which left the Minnesota lead standing at 113-53. One more jam remained in the half, where Sunny Daze outscored Lexi Cuter 7-4 to cut Minnesota’s halftime lead to 117-60.

California began their second-half comeback bid with a promising jam by Wrecks, who took advantage of a power jam to score 8 points before the jam was called off due to the front wheels falling off Galaxy pivot Tifa Knoxhard’s right skate. The Supernovas then began the next jam on the power jam, but Lexi Cuter raced out of the box to secure lead jammer and outscore Zoetrope 2-0. In the following jam, both teams’ jammers were assessed penalties, but Bri Zuss outscored Sunny Daze 8-4 to extend Minnesota’s lead to 127-72. Wrecks started the next jam as the only jammer on the track, and she scored 4 points while Bri Zuss scored 0. In the next jam, Hannah Morley took advantage of a short-pack situation – only two skaters (including jammer Chippa Tooth) were on the track for MNRD at one point – to outscore Chippa Tooth 12-4 and cut the Supernovas’ deficit to 131-88. 

Any momentum gained from the previous two jams didn’t last, however, as Sintripetal Force took advantage of a power jam to score 10 points, then Ginger Snap followed that by outscoring California 15-3 to bring the Minnesota lead to 156-91. The penalties kept coming fast and furious, as Lexi Cuter was sent to the box in the next jam, allowing an 8-0 jam by Wrecks. In the following jam, Hannah Morley pushed California past the century mark, with her 2 points bringing the score to 156-101 in favor of Minnesota. Zoetrope followed with a single point for the Supernovas, then Minnesota finally got back in the points column with 4 from Sintripetal Force. A power jam for Ginger Snap followed, where she scored 4 points before calling it off and forcing Hannah Morley to stay in the box at the start of the next jam. Lexi Cuter lined up as the only jammer on the track, and she raced out to a quick lead before being penalized. She was later penalized again, but still scored 8 points to Hannah Morley’s 7 to extend the MNRD lead to 172-109. 

Zoetrope began the following jam unopposed, and she had a solid jam, scoring 8 points despite getting penalized herself. On the Minnesota power jam, Bizzquick – who had received a star pass – scored a respectable 4. A rare penalty-free jam followed, with Wrecks outscoring Bri Zuss 2-0 to cut the Minnesota lead to 176-119. The next jam was 8-0 in favor of Sintripetal Force, but the Supernovas unsuccessfully challenged for an out-of-play block during the jam. Despite the lost review, California took a 4-0 advantage in the next jam courtesy of Hannah Morley, taking the score to 184-123 in favor of MNRD. 

It remained that way after a 0-0 jam, then a long, physical jam followed. In that jam, Zoetrope was first out of the pack, but elected not to call it off after being passed by Lexi Cuter. Lexi Cuter scored 4 before a split pack was at a long standstill along the back stretch. Eventually, both jammers got through, and the jam ended 10-4 in favor of Lexi Cuter. Sintripetal Force then put Minnesota past the 200-point mark with a 7-0 jam, taking their lead up to 201-127. The Supernovas then “stole” the next jam, as Wrecks outscored Ginger Snap 4-3 despite Ginger Snap having lead jammer status. In the bout’s final jam, Hannah Morley was the first jammer out of the pack, but was assessed a penalty to put Lexi Cuter on the power jam. She scored 8 points before calling off the jam, securing a 212-131 victory for Minnesota. 

It was Minnesota’s fourth straight win against a team from the North America West region, almost certainly assuring a high entrance into the Geographically Unrestricted Region rankings. The All-Stars next travel to Pegula Ice Arena in State College, Pennsylvania, for the North America Northeast Regional Championships on May 17-19. The sixth-seeded All-Stars will face Les Sexpos, the 11th-seeded B-team of Montreal Roller Derby, in the opening round, with the winner taking on third-seeded Gotham Roller Derby. The All-Star program will then be back home at Highland Arena in St. Paul for the 2024 Have a Nice Day Tournament on August 2-4.

Written by: Aidan Hofstedt