The Green Mountain Derby Dames had their final home game of the season this past weekend, and the bouts were so amazing that it took us a whole extra day to write up the recaps! (Okay, it really took us a whole extra day to drive home, which delayed everything else. Shush.) Both bouts of this double header were exciting, fast, action-packed, and other nail-biting-type adjectives. We were also stoked to see so many friendly faces, thrilled at Star Slayer's triumphant return to the track post-pregnancy, and thankful that we got to know Miss Dairy Air before her derby retirement. All in all, it was an excellent evening on and off the track.
On with the recaps!
Bout 1: Black Ice Brawlers vs. Twin City Riot
The fact that these two teams practice about an hour away from each other and borrow skaters on a regular basis means that the close score wasn't a surprise, nor the two 4-jam stretches where the score didn't change at all. What was a surprise was that, while the jammers skated fairly cleanly (only a handful of power jams in the bout), not one but two Riot blockers fouled out of the game. Granted, they were two of the toughest blockers on the team (Livid Loquita and Pumpkin CarvHer), but it was still a bit surprising to see the first ejection only halfway through the second period.
When we say the score was close, we mean the spread was less than 40 points, there were two jams that saw tie scores, and four lead changes over the course of the game. Lead jammer status was split pretty evenly between the teams, and there was usually some scoring done by the non-lead jammer. An initial 3-2 jam in favor of the Brawlers (despite the Riot having lead jammer) and then the three subsequent scoreless jams summed up the game as a whole: modest, balanced gains, and a lot of good blockers keeping jammers stuck in the pack.
The first power jam happened with about five minutes left in the first period, and the Riot's Peril Liza immediately called the jam to bring in a slightly less exhausted Bad Betty Bonz to wear the star. After a few scoring passes, though, Bonz caught a major penalty, and the Brawlers' Snow Fury swooped out of the box to recover some of the losses. Two more jams with the Brawlers getting lead jammer, and the halftime whistle blew with the Riot barely leading 67-58.
The halftime pep talk worked magic for the Brawlers, inspiring them to tie the score in jam 3 and take the lead in jam 4. Jam 6 saw the start of another 4-jam scoreless streak, despite a power jam for the Brawlers. Both teams nibbled away at the score for the rest of the period, but the Brawlers maintained their lead and wrapped up the game with a 135-104 win. It was an excellent end to the season.
Special Shout Out: Miss Dairy Air, who skated her final bout with style despite a killer cold. We love you, Dairy!
Bout 2: Rideau Valley Vixens vs. Grade A Fancy
Three years ago, the Vixens were one of the first teams to play the newly-formed Green Mountain Derby Dames, and they won by a scant 5 points. Both teams have been working on their skills in the meantime, and everyone was excited to see what would happen in this rematch.
What happened was that we spent most of the bout wondering when our beloved announcer Rock Thudson was going to get the visitors' name right (Rideau sort of rhymes with Frito), in between watching the very fast jams and trying to figure out what the score was.
There may have been a pair of lead changes late in the first period, but the period started and ended with the Vixens in the lead, and the Fancy only got lead jammer in five jams (four of which belonged to Terminate Her). The Vixens' Soul Rekker was the superstar jammer, picking up more than half of her team's points all by herself. Halftime saw the Vixens up 93-74.
The Fancy seemed to rally in the start of the second period, getting lead jammer in four of the first six jams and taking the lead twice, but it was not to last. The Vixens' blockers held and recycled the Fancy's jammers over and over again while their own jammers powered through walls to get through the pack in short order. By the time it was all over (and the score was re-adjusted to account for some miscommunication), the Vixens had beaten the Fancy 174-129.
Name of the Bout: Drunky Brewster #3 (RVV)
And with that, we end our year as the official bout recappers for the Green Mountain Derby Dames. We'll be covering more bouts in the southern part of New England in the coming year, and would love submissions (recaps, articles, whatever) from areas we're not able to cover. Use the link in the sidebar to get in touch, and have a marvelous off-season!
