Nov 7, 2013 | Bout News

The Blocking Dead: Rockits Hold On Against Atomic Bombshells, 122-119

The Rockits skated out to a substantial second-half lead, then withstood a late surge by the Atomic Bombshells to win their first bout in the tenth contest for the Golden Skate. This is Fire Wally with the view from the stats table.

Fannie Tanner started on the jammer line for the Bombshells against the Rockits’ Commander Nix. Two solid walls held at first, but Fannie managed to pull the Rockits wall forward and sneak away for lead jammer as they bridged back to the Bombshell blockers. Nix broke the pack right on Fannie’s fannie, but she managed to complete a four-point pass before calling off the jam.

The Rockits struck back on the next jam. A Freeze Baby back-block penalty opened up a power jam opportunity for Dreidel Robber. The Bombshells wall of Bully Jean, Hurtrude Stein, sandblastHER, and Skullateral Damage burned time off the power jam and robbed Dreidel of Lead jammer by forcing a no-pass, no-penalty after she was pushed out of bounds. Dreidel picked up steam on the scoring pass though, taking advantage of a hole cleared by MadRad to clear the pack. Dreidel made another scoring pass as Freeze was released from the box, then signaled for her blockers to speed up the pack. Freeze baby managed 2 points to Dreidel’s 10, making the score 10-6 with 16 minutes left in the half.

Fannie and Trudy erased the Rockits lead in the next two jams, setting up Bombshells rookie Roley Ann Lena jamming against Rockits veteran Commander Nix. Roley snuck by the Rockits on the inside for lead jammer, then Nix got pushed out by Diamond Rough and Smoka Hontas and brought 20 feet behind the pack as Roley picked up a five-point pass. A fracas of penalties followed, with two blockers from each team visiting the penalty box. Roley picked up 8 points on the jam, but a late call-off allowed Commander Nix to sneak in 4 for the Rockits. The blocker penalties gave Freeze Baby a thin pack to escape while Trudy and Chris Tea Pain held back Dreidel Robber. Another scoring pass gave the bombshells a 33-15 Advantage with 10 minutes in the half.

Commander Nix then lined up against another Bombshells Rookie – Mugsy Marauder – this time with only two blockers from each team on the track. Nix juked to the inside to claim lead jammer, and soon after a track cut by the Bombshells’ jammer opened up a power jam opportunity for the Rockits. The revolving door to the penalty box kept spinning, with as little as three total blockers on the track during Nix’s next scoring pass. Buzz Tightrear and Couchie Coup split the Orange wall, leaving an open path for more points from Nix. 19 points from Nix erased the Bombshells lead and made the score 34-33 Rockits with 9 minutes until halftime.

Rhea Volt added five more for the Rockits on the next jam, but committed a late penalty to start the following jam in the box. Roley Ann Lena used a short Rockits pack and some great offensive blocking from Skullateral Damage to rack up 15 and retake the lead for the Bombshells. That lead proved short-lived, however, as a Freeze Baby track cut opened up another power jam opportunity for Commander Nix. The Rockits line of BerNasty, Buzz TightRear and MadRad worked to keep the Orange blockers separated and keep a clear path for Nix, who scored over 30 to make the score 73-52 with 3 minutes left in the half. Dreidel and Rhea piled on in the next two jams, giving the Rockits a 84-52 lead at the halftime break.

Fannie Tanner Started the second half with five quick points for the Bombshells, but what followed was a long defensive stretch for the Rockits. The Rockits held the Bombshells to just four points in the next 10 minutes while slowly expanding their lead. With 17 minutes remaining on the clock, Nix made a windmill motion with her arm to get Surly Bird, Manilla Ice, Abbie Mischeif, and Buzz TightRear to speed up the pack. The Rockits continued this strategy through the middle of the second half, forgoing point-scoring opportunities in order to kill time off the clock and prevent Bombshell points.

With 2 minutes left in the game, a 115-71 lead on the scoreboard, and an opposing jammer in the penalty box, a casual observer might have thought that the Rockits had this one in the bag. Roley Ann Lena made them think twice by exploding out of the penalty box through the Rockits wall and claiming lead jammer. On the next pass, Coochie Coup held Roley at the front of the pack, but Skullateral Damage drew a track cut that gave the Bombshells a final power jam – and a Minivan, no less. Roley brought the score to 90-117 Rockits with seconds remaining on the clock. The Bombshells called a key timeout and planned out their last jam.

And what a jam it was. Fannie Tanner started alone on the jammer line as Rhea finished serving her penalty. Diamond Rough, Smoka Hontas, and Messi Jigler pushed, shoved, and recycled to keep Rhea contained while Fannie racked up the points. With time expired on the game clock and 1:00 remaining on the jam clock, Fannie crossed the century mark – could it be? With 20 seconds left, Fannie blew through a spread out Rockit wall to bring the Rockits up to 115 – is it possible? The Rockits score on the scoreboard still read 117 while Fannie approached the pack, but Rhea was clawing through the pack on a scoring pass – had she built in enough cushion? Fannie *barely* completed her last scoring pass before the final whistles blew, making the scoreboard briefly show a Bombshell lead as the crowd rushed in to celebrate a victory for team Orange.

However, after the officials met to confirm, Rhea’s earned-but-not-yet-recorded points from her last scoring pass were added to the scoreboard, bringing the final to 122-119 for the Rockits. She had done just enough to save it for the Rockits. The Bombshells might have ended just short, but nearly overcoming a 44-point defecit with in just two minutes of regulation is a feat that MNRG fans will not soon forget.

Box Score

ATOMIC BOMBSHELLS — 119 Points
16 Lead Jams
11 Jam Wins
2 Power Jams
38 Points Off Power Jams
16 Grand Slams

2 Fannie Tanner — 6-8 LJ, 47 pts
6 Roley Ann Lena — 5-6 LJ, 42 pts
0054 Freeze Baby — 3-6 LJ, 26 pts
727 Hurtrude Stein — 2-4 LJ, 4 pts

ROCKITS — 122 Points
9 Lead Jams
13 Jam Wins
5 Power Jams
76 Points Off Power Jams
14 Grand Slams

D1 Commander Nix — 4-11 LJ, 76 pts
8 Dreidel Robber — 1-6 LJ, 24 pts
84 Rhea Volt — 4-9 LJ, 22 pts

Read more Bout News Here