Aug 6, 2024 | Uncategorized

Have a Nice Day 2024 Game Recaps

Written by: Aidan Hofstedt

Minnesota Nice vs. North Star Roller Derby

The tournament began with a crosstown battle between Minnesota Nice (#31 NA Northeast) and North Star Roller Derby’s Supernovas (#35 NA Northeast). Minnesota Nice entered the bout 2-0 against North Star since B-teams became included in the WFTDA rankings in 2023. That didn’t seem to matter to North Star, as Sassberry opened the bout with a quick 4-0 jam. Slim Sadie followed with a 4-0 jam of her own, but Wheelie Nelson then used a 7-0 jam to get Minnesota on the board and cut the North Star lead to 1 point.

Sassberry was next to jam, and she got lead jammer before the pack skated a full lap around the track to evade her and T-Wrecks – a throwback to the “fast derby” style of play in the sport’s infancy. Ultimately, Sassberry scored 1 point to increase the lead to 9-7. Minnesota got the bout’s first power jam in the next jam as Slim Sadie was sent to the box, allowing Battlerina to outscore her 8-3 and give MNRD its first lead, 15-12. North Star was quick to answer, as Katarina Hit used a 5-0 jam to put the Supernovas back up by 2. Fanny Smack came right back with a 2-0 jam to tie the game at 17 for Minnesota. 

Slim Sadie followed with a 4-0 jam to regain the lead for North Star, then Katarina Hit extended it to 24-17 with a 3-0 jam of her own. Battlerina fought back with a 3-0 jam before Lefse 4 Dead and Slim Sadie faced off at the jammer line. Lefse 4 Dead got a quick lead jam and scored 4 points – tying the game – but was then sent to the box, giving Slim Sadie a power jam. She scored 8, and a further 4 from Lefse 4 Dead left the Supernova lead at 4 points. Katarina Hit followed that with a 2-0 jam, then a 2-2 jam between Wheelie Nelson and Sassberry brought the score to 36-30 in favor of North Star. After that, Katerina Hit added a quick 4-0 jam before Jim Rat scored a single point in her first jam of the night, taking North Star’s lead up to 41-30. Lefse 4 Dead then cut into the North Star lead with a 4-0 jam, leaving the Supernovas up by 7. 

After that, though, North Star began to take over. It started when Katarina Hit raced out to a lead jam, then Shadoux – who had received the star from Wheelie Nelson – was sent to the box, giving Katarina Hit a power jam. She took advantage of it to score 14 points, the most by any jammer in a single jam all bout. Another fast-skating jam followed, as Jim Rat and Wheelie Nelson had to chase down the pack in order to score a point apiece. After that, Sassberry put up a 4-0 to bring the score to 60-35 in favor of the Supernovas. Back-to-back 0-0 jams followed, then Sassberry closed the half with a 13-0 jam. North Star concluded the first half on a 32-1 run, and the halftime scoreline stood at 73-35.

The second half opened with a scoreless 10-second jam, then T-Wrecks began Minnesota’s comeback bid with a 3-0 jam. Katarina Hit quickly answered with a 4-0 jam. In the following jam, excellent Minnesota blocking kept Sassberry contained, allowing Lefse 4 Dead to score 12 points. Sassberry was able to score 4, bringing the score to 81-50. The next jam went the full 2 minutes, as Fanny Smack was stripped of her lead jammer status for committing a penalty; she still outscored KiLLRoy 8-6 to continue to dent the North Star lead. A quick 4-0 jam by Wheelie Nelson followed, then Sassberry and Battlerina traded 8-0 jams to bring the score to 95-70. 

The next jam featured tight blocking, with Lefse 4 Dead eventually securing lead jammer and a 3-0 jam. After that, Fanny Smack secured Minnesota’s third straight lead but was outscored 2-1 by Sassberry. Minnesota then took a timeout trailing 97-74. It initially worked, as Wheelie Nelson outscored Hitlist 7-2 to cut MNRD’s deficit to under 20. The next jam gave North Star a chance to re-extend their lead, as a T-Wrecks penalty gave them a power jam, but an exhausted Katarina Hit was held to a scoreless jam. 

The Supernovas got another power jam opportunity in the next jam, and this time, Sassberry took advantage with an 8-0 jam. It was called off in time for Hitlist to start as the only jammer in the next jam, but Annaconda raced out of the box to secure lead for Minnesota and score 4 points. The score stood at 107-85 before a further 4 from Lefse 4 Dead brought North Star’s lead back down to 18. A quick 2-0 jam by Sassberry took the Supernovas’ lead up to 20, then Minnesota called their final timeout with just under 6½ minutes to go. 

Hitlist finally got lead jammer at the third time of asking, but she could only muster a 4-4 jam against Wheelie Nelson. In the next jam, North Star lined up without a pivot, but it didn’t matter since Katerina Hit secured lead and put up 4 points. Sassberry added 3 points in the next jam, then Hitlist got North Star’s seventh lead jam in a row and outscored Lefse 4 Dead 8-3. That left the score at 128-96 with around 2 minutes left, meaning North Star could secure lead and let the clock run out to end the bout. Katerina Hit did secure lead, and she was given a power jam when Wheelie Nelson was sent to the box. She scored 8 points, but called off the jam with around a minute left, meaning there would be another jam. 

In that jam, Fanny Smack secured lead needing to outscore Sassberry by 40 points, but was sent to the box and stripped of her lead privileges. Sassberry ultimately outscored her 7-4 in the 2-minute jam, allowing North Star to leave a muggy Highland Arena with a 143-100 win. It was the Supernovas’ first ever win against Minnesota Nice; in fact, it was their first win against a MNRD team since the 2009 Brawl of America. (North Star beat the Minnesota All-Stars 76-62 – it was a different game back then.) The loss was Minnesota Nice’s fourth in a row, with their last win ironically being against North Star back in April.

Minnesota Nice vs. Denver Standbys

Minnesota Nice was back in action Saturday afternoon, this time against Denver Roller Derby’s C-team, the Standbys (#48 NA West, #24 GUR). The Standbys lost 305-116 to the Connecticut Roller Derby All-Stars the night before. Lefse 4 Dead began Saturday’s bout with a 4-0 jam, then Fanny Smack took advantage of a power jam to add 8 in the next jam. The penalties continued to come fast and furious, as Nikita Chickita was the only Denver blocker on the track at one point in the following jam. Wheelie Nelson easily scored 16, forcing Denver to call a timeout down 28-0 only 3:52 into the bout. 

That didn’t immediately fix the Standbys’ penalty woes, as they began the next jam in another short-pack situation. BooBoo scored 4 points, but Denver was fortunate to hold her to that few. After that, Denver continued to struggle offensively. T-Wrecks secured another Minnesota lead jam and shut out Bash Tag 3-0, bringing the score to 35-0. The next jam featured Denver securing their first lead jam, but it was called off before Smack Overflow could complete an apex jump to score the Standbys’ first points. Fanny Smack followed with a 2-0 jam, then Denver finally got on the board courtesy of a Bash Tag power jam. She outscored Wheelie Nelson 12-8 to make the score 45-12, then an electrifying 15-0 jam by Smack Overflow – featuring a completed apex jump – got the Standbys back within 18. 

A 0-0 jam followed, though T-Wrecks called it off in time to start the next jam on the power jam. Lefse 4 Dead jammed for Minnesota, and a stout Denver defense held her to 8 points despite Standbys jammer Gremlin committing 2 more penalties. She was still in the box at the start of the next jam, where Fanny Smack scored an additional 8 to bring the score to 61-27. (Gremlin committed another penalty in that jam, but had already passed the star; she didn’t see the track for the rest of the half.) Denver finally had another positive jam after that, as Bash Tag scored 4 without reply. It was short-lived, though, as another 8-0 power jam courtesy of T-Wrecks brought the MNRD lead up to 38. 

The next jam was the highest-scoring of the bout, as Lefse 4 Dead and Smack Overflow combined for 38 points (23-15 in favor of Minnesota) to make the score 92-46. Minnesota surpassed the century mark in the following jam, with Fanny Smack outscoring Keeper of The Skate 12-4. A scoreless jam followed, then BooBoo used a power jam to score 12 more Minnesota points. Despite being sent to the box, SpeedCat managed to score 7, taking the scoreline to 116-57. The Standbys followed by taking their first back-to-back lead jams of the night, with Smack Overflow scoring 4 before Bash Tag put up 3. Minnesota was held scoreless in both jams. The final jam of the half was called off at 0-0 due to an apparent arm injury to Minnesota blocker Buck Hustle, so the halftime score stood at 116-64.

Both teams’ jammers committed penalties to open the second half, with Wheelie Nelson eventually outscoring Bash Tag 19-6. Denver’s Smack Overflow started the next jam as the only jammer on the track, but she ultimately committed 2 penalties and split the jam with Wheelie Nelson, 8-8. It was then Smack Overflow’s turn to start a jam in the box, and BooBoo used the advantage to take a quick lead jam and score 8 points. That brought the score to 151-78 in favor of Minnesota. 

MNRD kept the run going after that, as T-Wrecks secured a 4-0 jam before Lefse 4 Dead added 8 more. Fanny Smack then exploded for 20 points while the Minnesota blockers kept Gremlin and Keeper of The Skate from leaving the pack, taking the lead up to 183-78. SpeedCat then stopped the 40-point Minnesota run with a 4-0 jam. After that, Bash Tag outscored Wheelie Nelson 4-1 to get the deficit back within double digits, but that didn’t last long. T-Wrecks used a power jam to score 7 points, then a 12-point jam for Lefse 4 Dead brought Minnesota past 200. A single Denver point at the end of that jam meant the score stood at 203-87 in favor of the hosts.

Another lead jam for Minnesota followed, with Fanny Smack scoring 4, but a 3-point apex jump by SpeedCat meant MNRD could only extend their lead by a point. Gremlin was sent back to the box in the next jam, giving Wheelie Nelson a power jam. She scored 8 points before a 12-point power jam from BooBoo extended Minnesota’s lead to 227-90. BooBoo was sent to the box as the jam ended, though, giving Bash Tag a power start in the next jam. Bash Tag scored 4 to get the Standbys back on the board. 2 from T-Wrecks followed, but 3 from Smack Overflow in the next jam brought the score to 229-97 and left Denver sniffing the century mark. 

However, MNRD got back on track after that, as Fanny Smack put up 4 in the next jam. Wheelie Nelson called off the next jam after failing an apex jump, then T-Wrecks scored 2 to bring the score to 235-97. Another scoreless jam followed, then Fanny Smack used a 12-0 jam to close the bout with a win by exactly 150 points, 247-97. That was the fewest points the Standbys had scored since their first WFTDA-sanctioned bout, a 255-54 loss to Boulder County Roller Derby in April 2023. Minnesota Nice, meanwhile, got back in the win column after losing four consecutive bouts. 

Minnesota All-Stars vs. Bruising Altitude

Saturday’s nightcap featured the only tournament action for the Minnesota All-Stars (#7 NA Northeast, #17 GUR) as they faced Denver’s B-team, Bruising Altitude (#11 NA West, #13 GUR). Bruising Altitude beat Grand Raggidy Roller Derby 250-152 earlier in the day. Former MNRD skater Homo Erratic opened the bout with a 6-0 jam for Denver, but Sintripetal Force followed by outscoring Cosmo 16-6 to take the lead for Minnesota. A further 16 followed from Lexi Cuter in a jam where Bruising Altitude jammer Vinni was sent to the box just as it ended. That allowed Chippa Tooth to start on the power jam, where she erupted for 27 to give MNRD a 59-12 lead.

Yo’Leeta Applebum stopped the run by scoring 2 points for Denver. After that, Bri Zuss scored 6 for Minnesota, then Homo Erratic failed to capitalize on a lead jam and was held to a 0-0 score. Back-to-back 3-0 jams by Lexi Cuter and Chippa Tooth, respectively, took Minnesota’s lead to 71-14. Whoopsie Daisy, who jammed much more than usual during this bout, added 2 more points for MNRD. After that, another former MNRD skater in Moose Def-initely electrified the crowd with a 6-0 Denver jam. Sintripetal Force came back with 6 of her own to bring the score to 79-20. 

A penalty-filled jam followed, where, at one point, all four Minnesota blockers were sent to the box at the same time. Since one blocker needs to be on the track at all times, Rollin’ Rizz was sent back onto the track to serve her penalty later. Cosmo took advantage and scored 8 points for Bruising Altitude. The next jam was split 4-4 between Chippa Tooth and Vinni, then Whoopsie Daisy had a massive 16-0 jam to take Minnesota’s lead up to 99-32. 

Moose Def-initely answered with a single point, but she was sent to the box as the jam ended. That meant Sintripetal Force began the next jam as the sole jammer, but she was eventually sent to the box as well. However, she was let out after the call was deemed a mistake, and she went on to score 8 points. At the end of the jam, though, she was sent back to the box. That allowed Homo Erratic to start with a power jam, but she was later sent to the box, and a tight jam ended 0-0. 

Another scoreless jam followed, then Chippa Tooth and Vinni split a jam 2-2 to bring the score to 109-35. In the next jam, Yo’Leeta Applebum secured lead for Bruising Altitude, but the pack skated 3 laps around the track to outrace her and Whoopsie Daisy. Eventually, Yo’Leeta Applebum scored 4 points. One jam remained in the half, where Bri Zuss scored 4 to bring the halftime score to 113-39.

The second half began the same way the first half ended: a 4-0 jam for Bri Zuss. Sintripetal Force followed that up with a 2-0 jam, but Vinni responded by using a Lexi Cuter penalty to put up a 12-0 power jam. Chippa Tooth came right back with a 12-0 power jam of her own courtesy of a Yo’Leeta Applebum penalty. 4 points by Whoopsie Daisy on the ensuing jam meant Minnesota had a 135-51 lead, but Cosmo came right back with 4 points of her own. The next jam was scoreless, then Lexi Cuter used a penalty-filled jam to score 20 points while Vinni didn’t even complete her initial pass, bringing the MNRD lead to an even 100. 

Chippa Tooth added 4 more in the next jam, but Cosmo got 2 points back in the jam after that to make the score 159-57. Bri Zuss then raced out to a lead jam, but she was forced to call it off without scoring after being chased down by Homo Erratic. After that, Vinni scored 4 to get Denver’s deficit back down to double digits, but that wouldnt last long. A scoreless jam came next, then 3 points from Chippa Tooth put Minnesota up by 101. 

Yet another 0-0 jam followed, then Bri Zuss and Cosmo split the next jam 2-2. Then, Sintripetal Force and Lexi Cuter each put up 4-0 jams to take the MNRD lead to 172-63. Chippa Tooth followed with a fourth straight lead jam for Minnesota, but Homo Erratic outscored her 4-0 by making a pass along the inside as the jam was called off. However, Wheelie Nelson answered with an 8-0 jam to keep the streak of lead jams alive. It finally ended in the next jam, as Cosmo was first out of the pack en route to scoring 1 point. At that point, the score was 180-68 in favor of Minnesota. 

Sintripetal Force and Lexi Cuter then extended the lead with back-to-back 3-0 jams. After that, Chippa Tooth and Homo Erratic traded 2-0 jams to bring the score to 188-70. Cosmo scored 3 in the next jam, but Sintripetal Force put the final flourish on the Minnesota victory with a 24-0 jam to close the bout. The final score was 212-73 in favor of Minnesota; Bruising Altitude scored a meager 35 points in the second half. It was the All-Stars’ largest win since last year’s Have a Nice Day Tournament, where they beat Madison Roller Derby by 148. With the win, Minnesota improves to 5-0 against North America West teams since the WFTDA reintroduced regions in 2023.

Minnesota Nice vs. Grand Raggidy Roller Derby

Minnesota Nice concluded their tournament with a Sunday morning showdown against Grand Raggidy Roller Derby (#17 NA Northeast). Grand Raggidy entered the bout 0-2 for the tournament, losing 250-152 to Bruising Altitude before dropping a 230-87 bout to Connecticut. Slamwise Gamgee opened Sunday’s bout with a 4-0 jam for Grand Raggidy. Sassathrash followed that with a 7-0 jam where Minnesota jammer Fanny Smack was penalized late, allowing Grand Raggidy to start the next jam on a power jam. Freddi Kruiser used the power start to score 3 points and bring Grand Raggidy’s lead up to 14-0. 

In the next jam, Minnesota finally got on the board with 8 points courtesy of Wheelie Nelson. A tight jammer race followed, as Slamwise Gamgee stayed close enough to BooBoo to force her to call off the jam at 0-0. Sassathrash then raced out to a lead jam, but T-Wrecks scored before her, and they split a 4-4 jam. At that point, Minnesota trailed 18-12. 

Grand Raggidy went on a quick run after that, starting with a 4-0 jam by Freddi Kruiser. Van Wailin’ followed with 8 points in a jam where Fanny Smack committed a late penalty, so Slamwise Gamgee started the next jam as the only jammer on the track. They scored 6 points to bring Grand Raggidy’s lead up to 36-12, while Fanny Smack committed another penalty to give the visitors a second straight power start. However, Fanny Smack got out of the box, secured lead jammer, and scored 1 point to Sassathrash’s 0. 

The next jam featured tight blocking, as it took over a minute for Wheelie Nelson to get out of the pack to become the lead jammer. She only scored 1 point after a failed apex jump attempt. A scoreless jam followed, then T-Wrecks scored 3 points to cut Minnesota’s deficit to 36-17. Minnesota thought they had a big opportunity in the next jam when Sassathrash was sent to the box, giving Lefse 4 Dead a power jam, but Lefse 4 Dead then committed a penalty to lose her lead jammer privileges. She did outscore Sassathrash 11-4, but she was prevented from cutting Grand Raggidy’s lead to single digits. 

A long-awaited positive jam for Grand Raggidy came next, with Freddi Kruiser scoring 4 points. 3 more from Van Wailin’ followed, but back-to-back 4-0 jams by BooBoo and T-Wrecks, respectively, cut MNRD’s deficit down to 11. Van Wailin’ got Grand Raggidy back on track in the next jam by scoring 4 before calling it off with the Minnesota jammer in the penalty box. Slamwise Gamgee used the power start to score 5 points, though 2 out of the box for Lefse 4 Dead meant the score was 56-38 in favor of the Michiganders. 

The next jam was the highest-scoring in a while, as Sassathrash scored 10 to Fanny Smack’s 4 to extend the lead. After a Grand Raggidy-initiated official review, Fanny Smack was sent to the box to begin the next jam, where Van Wailin’ was only able to score a single point. The next jam featured another power jam opportunity for Grand Raggidy, as Freddi Kruiser scored 6 in what turned out to be the last jam of the half. The halftime score was 73-42 in favor of Grand Raggidy. 

Wheelie Nelson started the second half in the box, but she got a power jam after Slamwise Gamgee was penalized. That didn’t last long, as Wheelie Nelson was sent back to the box later in the jam. After 2 minutes, it ended 8-4 in favor of Wheelie Nelson. T-Wrecks followed with a 4-0 jam, then Fanny Smack added a 2-0 jam of her own. In both jams, Grand Raggidy was forced to pass the star. Grand Raggidy then got their first jam-long lead of the half – Slamwise Gamgee lost lead privileges after being penalized in the first jam – courtesy of Van Wailin’, but Lefse 4 Dead tiptoed along the outside to score 3 points to her 2 and cut the deficit to 20 points. 

The margin remained 20 after a 4-4 jam between BooBoo and Slamwise Gamgee. In the next jam, excellent blocking by Minnesota allowed T-Wrecks to score 12 points and get within 8 of Grand Raggidy. However, Freddi Kruiser used a power jam and solid Grand Raggidy blocking to outscore Wheelie Nelson 12-6 and bring the margin back to double digits. The next jam was split 4-4 between Lefse 4 Dead and Van Wailin’, then a tight jammer race between Slamwise Gamgee and Fanny Smack ended scoreless. T-Wrecks subsequently used an 8-0 jam to cut the deficit to 99-93. 4 points by Wheelie Nelson in the next jam made it a 2-point difference with 15 minutes left in the bout. 

Van Wailin’ raced out to a lead jam, but she was penalized and had to forfeit her lead privileges. That allowed Lefse 4 Dead to score 16 points and give Minnesota their first lead of the bout. Van Wailin’ scored 6 – making the score 113-105 – but was penalized again to give BooBoo a power start to the next jam. She scored 4, then a further 4 from T-Wrecks put Minnesota up 121-105. Needing to stop the bout from slipping away, Freddi Kruiser outscored Annaconda 11-4, then an 8-0 jam for Slamwise Gamgee tied the bout at 125 with 7 minutes to go.

A crucial 7-0 jam by Fanny Smack took back the lead for Minnesota, then a 4-0 jam for T-Wrecks extended the lead to 11 points. Grand Raggidy came back with a power jam for Van Wailin’, who scored 4 points before calling off the jam to leave BooBoo in the box to start the next one. However, Slamwise Gamgee couldn’t take advantage as both teams put up solid walls. After being forced to the infield to tie their skate, Slamwise Gamgee secured lead with 47 seconds left in the jam, but the jam ended scoreless when they were forced off injured. BooBoo started the next jam in the box as well, but neither she nor Freddi Kruiser could get out of the pack for the entire 2 minutes, leaving the score at 136-129. Grand Raggidy called timeout with 1 second left in the bout to force a dramatic final jam.

T-Wrecks and Sassathrash lined up on the jammer line to decide the bout, while each team had a skater start in the box. Sassathrash secured lead, needing to lap T-Wrecks in order to win, but T-Wrecks kept pace as each jammer completed their initial scoring pass. After that, Grand Raggidy blockers kept getting sent to the box – at one point, Cyco Vision was the only blocker on the track – allowing T-Wrecks to keep scoring while the Minnesota blocking held Sassathrash. The jam ended 12-8 in favor of T-Wrecks, allowing Minnesota Nice to escape with a 148-137 win.

After the win, Minnesota skaters sang “Happy Birthday” to T-Wrecks, who finished with 55 points. Minnesota Nice finished the tournament 2-1, while Grand Raggidy went 0-3 – losing 3 straight for the first time since 2017. Minnesota Nice will now wait for September to see where they fall in the WFTDA North America Northeast rankings, though they will almost certainly be placed above Grand Raggidy. They also enter the Geographically Unrestricted Region rankings after defeating Denver’s Standbys earlier in the tournament.