Jan 19, 2025 | Bout News
Wheels Like the First Time Bout Recap
Roller Vortex vs. Wednesday Warnings
MNRD’s 20th anniversary bout opened with a showdown between the Roller Vortex and the Wednesday Warnings. Both teams entered the bout 2-0, with the winner securing an undefeated regular season and the top seed in the playoffs. The Vortex were missing two of their best skaters – leading scorer Lexi Cuter and pivot Shadoux – but led 2-0 after the first jam courtesy of Wheelie Nelson. Bri Zuss scored 6 for the Warnings in the following jam, putting the Vortex behind for the first time since November. T-Wrecks followed with 19 points on a Warnings power jam, giving the Warnings an early 25-2 lead.
In the next jam, R.I.P.unzel secured a quick lead for the Vortex and scored 4 points, but Sintripetal Force scored 4 of her own to prevent R.I.P.unzel from narrowing the deficit. It took Bri Zuss over a minute to secure lead in the next jam, and she was held scoreless following an unsuccessful apex jump. The next jam was once again scoreless, but T-Wrecks followed by scoring 4 on a power jam to take the lead to 33-6.
R.I.P.unzel scored 3 before calling off the next jam with Warnings jammer Bizzquick in the penalty box, giving the Vortex a power start. However, the Warnings’ fast pack prevented Lefse 4 Dead from taking advantage, and Bizzquick secured lead jammer before posting a 4-0 jam. In the next jam, the Warnings got their own power jam, and Hurtrude Stein used the opportunity to score 7 points and extend the lead to 35. 2 points from Sintripetal Force followed, leaving the score at 46-9 in favor of the Warnings.
Sintripetal Force and Bri Zuss scored 2 and 4, respectively, in the next two jams, putting the Warnings ahead 50-9. T-Wrecks secured lead after that, but was held scoreless. Sintripetal Force added 4 in the next jam, giving the Warnings a 45-point lead. Hoping for a momentum swing, Battlerina gave the Vortex a lead jam, but she was closely pursued by Bri Zuss and had to call off the jam without scoring. R.I.P.unzel then gave the Vortex back-to-back leads for the first time all night, but an injury to Hurtrude Stein prematurely ended another scoreless jam.
At the end of the previous jam, Sintripetal Force was assessed a penalty, giving Lefse 4 Dead a power start. She secured a quick lead and completed her first scoring pass, energizing the crowd, but failed an apex jump on her second pass and was penalized for a track cut. That gave Sintripetal Force a power jam, and she erupted for 23 points. Despite 6 points for the Vortex – finally putting their score into double digits – the Warnings extended their lead to 62.
T-Wrecks began the next jam on a power start, as Poysenberry Pie was assessed a penalty after receiving the star in the previous jam. T-Wrecks scored 3 before Bri Zuss ending the half with a 4-0 jam, taking the Warnings’ halftime lead to 84-15. The 69-point advantage was the largest halftime lead of the season, surpassing the Vortex’s 67-point lead over the Maul Rats in December. 15 points was also any team’s lowest halftime total all season.
The Wednesday Warnings picked up right where they left off to begin the second half, as an 11-0 jam for Sintripetal Force brought the lead up to 80. Lefse 4 Dead then gave the Vortex their first lead jam of the half, and she scored 3 points before calling off the jam. However, T-Wrecks scored 4 just as Lefse 4 Dead called it off. Bri Zuss extended the lead to 101-18 by scoring 2 in the next jam, putting the Warnings over the century mark with more than 21 minutes left in the bout.
Sintripetal Force kept things rolling for the Warnings, posting a 3-0 jam before T-Wrecks scored her second straight 4-3 jam without being the lead jammer, increasing the Warnings’ advantage to 87. That soon became 90 courtesy of 3 points by Bri Zuss. Sintripetal Force added a single point before Futile Hit jammed for the first time that night. Futile Hit, a foster skater playing for the Warnings, was first to escape the pack, but she did not become the lead jammer because she took off her helmet cover. She still scored 4 points before Wheelie Nelson made her first pass and immediately called off the jam. The Warnings led 116-21 and were within reach of a 100-point lead.
Battlerina finally stopped the run with a 9-3 jam, then the next one featured two jammers who normally serve as pivots. Whipsie Doozie got the better of Annaconda, outscoring her 7-0 to increase the Warnings’ lead to 96. Sintripetal Force added 2 more in the next jam, but a premature call-off due to injury prevented the Warnings from taking a triple-digit lead. Bri Zuss seemed poised to do it in the next jam, but a big hit along the inside by Poysenberry Pie prevented her from becoming the lead jammer. That allowed Wheelie Nelson to secure lead, and her single point left the score at 128-31.
Battlerina then outscored T-Wrecks 4-2, but a short pack situation allowed Futile Hit to score 3 points and bring the lead back to 98. R.I.P.unzel staved off a triple-digit deficit, though, posting a 7-0 jam for the Vortex. Primm Reaper followed by scoring 8 in a rare jamming appearance, extending the Warnings’ lead to 99. Wheelie Nelson and Bri Zuss failed to score in the next jam, leaving the total at 141-42.
Battlerina used a power jam to score 4 points for the Vortex, but T-Wrecks answered with a 2-0 jam. R.I.P.unzel came back with a quick lead and a 3-0 jam, putting the Warnings 6 points away from a 100-point win with only one jam remaining. Lefse 4 Dead secured lead for the Vortex, but she was met by a tough Warnings wall. She eventually passed the star to MadLibs with 10 seconds left in the jam, forfeiting lead privileges but allowing the Vortex to score 4 points. Those 4 points were the difference between a double-digit and a triple-digit defeat, as 6 points from Bri Zuss left the final score at 149-53 for the Warnings. With the win, the Warnings secured the #1 seed in the playoffs, and both teams would wait for the second bout to determine their semifinal opponents.
Bodies of Water vs. Maul Rats
In contrast with the first bout, the second bout featured two teams searching for their first win of the season. A year removed from meeting in the championship game, the Bodies of Water and the Maul Rats were now playing to avoid the bottom seed in the playoffs. Chippa Tooth cut the track on her initial pass, giving the Maul Rats a power jam. However, Crashy Go Lucky took off her helmet cover, so she did not become the lead jammer upon exiting the pack. After a 2-minute jam, Chippa Tooth outscored Twisted Transistor for an 8-7 lead.
BooBoo scored 4 for the Rats in the next jam, giving last year’s champions their first lead of the night. Anne t. fascism came back with a 12-0 jam, putting the Bodies back in front. Tight defense prevented Krypta Night from securing lead until 40 seconds remained in the next jam, and she was held scoreless. In the following jam, Connie scored 6 for the Rats to cut the Bodies’ lead to 20-17.
With only two blockers on the track for each team at one point, BooBoo outscored Chippa Tooth 2-1 to further cut the Rats’ deficit. Crashy Go Lucky then outscored Polar Blair 8-3 to put the Maul Rats ahead by 3. The lead didn’t last long, as Anne t. fascism came back with a 7-0 jam that featured a late jammer penalty for the Maul Rats. Bunnicula started the next jam in the box, but despite the opportunity, Krypta Night couldn’t escape the pack. Neither jammer could make it through their initial pass, even when Bunnicula was penalized again, and the jam ended 0-0 without a lead jammer. The score stood at 31-27 for the Bodies.
Fanny Smack scored her first points of the night, with her 3 giving the Bodies a 7-point advantage. Chippa Tooth followed with a quick 4-0 jam, extending the lead to 11 as the announcers remarked how that lead felt massive in such a defensive game, but that 11-point jams happen all the time. Right on cue, BooBoo posted a 12-0 jam, bullying her way along the outside to wrestle back the lead for the Maul Rats. Crashy Go Lucky followed with a 4-2 jam, giving the Rats a 3-point advantage that tied for their biggest lead of the half.
Gams raced out to a quick lead for the Maul Rats, but she lost the lead after committing a penalty. That gave Whoopsie Daisy – who had received a star pass – a power jam, and she scored 12 points to Gams’s 4 to take back the lead for the Bodies. The jam ended with around 10 seconds left in the half, and the Rats called for an official review to look at possible blocker penalties. Thanks to clock issues, the half ended before the referees made a decision about the review, leaving the Bodies up 52-47 at halftime.
As the teams started the second half, the official review was ruled unsuccessful. Connie outscored Fanny Smack 8-4 in the first jam, bringing the Maul Rats within 1 point of the Bodies. Chippa Tooth responded with an 8-0 jam, increasing the lead to 9, before 2 points from Polar Blair opened up a double-digit lead. Crashy Go Lucky committed a track cut during her initial pass in the next jam, giving Anne t. fascism a power jam. She scored 6, giving the Bodies their largest lead of the night at 72-55.
Connie then picked up a quick lead for the Maul Rats, and she used a power jam and blocker penalties to score 11 points and cut the deficit to single digits. Fanny Smack came back with a 6-point jam for the Bodies, then Chippa Tooth added 2 more to extend the lead back to 14. In the next jam, Polar Blair raced out of the pack, but was chased down by Do or Di to prevent her from securing lead. That allowed Velvet Wench to become the lead jammer, and she scored 12 points to cut the Maul Rats’ deficit to 80-78.
Anne t. fascism then secured lead for the Bodies, but a massive hit by Sew Dangerous as she exited the pack knocked her to the ground. She got back up but could only score 2 points, leaving the Rats within one scoring pass of a tie game. Connie did one better, completing 2 scoring passes to outscore Krypta Night 8-0 and give the Maul Rats their first lead of the half, 86-82, with 8 minutes left in the bout.
Another 8-0 jam for BooBoo followed, putting the Rats up double digits for the first time all night. Crashy Go Lucky secured the Rats’ third straight lead jam, but Chippa Tooth chased her down and stopped her from scoring more than 1 point. Trailing 95-82, the Bodies needed a spark, and they got one courtesy of Anne t. fascism and Fanny Smack. They each posted 3-0 jams, cutting the deficit to 95-88 with 2:19 remaining.
Chippa Tooth got a power start to the next jam, and she raced out to a quick lead. However, the Maul Rat defense held firmer on her scoring passes, limiting her to a long, hard-fought 7-0 jam. Those 7 points tied the bout at 95-95, and the Bodies elected to call a timeout with 11 seconds remaining instead of letting the bout go to overtime.
Anne t. fascism, the Bodies’ best jammer of the night, lined up across from BooBoo, last year’s championship hero, to decide the bout. BooBoo was first to exit the pack, but she was not granted lead privileges. That forced her to keep jamming after she scored on her first scoring pass, but the Bodies’ defense kept her from getting through. That allowed Anne t. fascism to get out and score, and when the 2 minutes ended, Anne t. fascism had defeated BooBoo 11-3 to give the Bodies a 106-98 win.
With the win, the Bodies earned the #3 seed and will face the second-seeded Roller Vortex in the semifinals. The Maul Rats, meanwhile, finished last and will play the top-seeded Wednesday Warnings. The Rats finished the regular season winless for the second year in a row, but they won the championship as the #4 seed last season.