Before we get to today's bout recap, an announcement:
This will be the last recap we post. We're at a point in our fandom where we'd rather just watch bouts than write about them, and there are so many other things on the calendar that we're lucky to catch a bout every month or two. So Pack Is Here is retiring. You'll still see us at bouts now and then, but without the notebook. Thank you to all the skaters and leagues that inspired our love for the game, and we look forward to watching the evolution of this wonderful sport.
So, without further ado, let us fill you in on what happened last night in Connecticut!
Hartford Area Roller Derby hosted a double-header, with the Wailers up against the Scranton Roller Radicals and the Bedrockers facing Shoreline's Bella Donnas. The A-team bout went off first, and it was quite the nail-biter.
Bout 1: Hartford Wailers vs. Scranton Roller Radicals
Of the first ten jams, the Radicals had lead jammer for seven of them, and took what appeared to be a strong 54-21 lead. Then something clicked for the Wailers, and with a couple of power jams they switched things up, grabbing an 89-58 lead over the Radicals with 13 minutes left in the first period. It seemed like they had things sorted at halftime, sitting 31 points ahead, but that halftime pep talk can be a real deal-changer sometimes.
The Radicals came screaming back from the break, taking the lead back over the course of seven jams, and holding it until there were less than ten minutes left on the clock. Hartford got a power jam that brought them into the lead at 177-175, but two minutes later the Radicals got their own power jam and switched up the lead again. Another Hartford power jam in the next jam put the Wailers back in the lead at 209-190, and when the final whistle blew a few minutes later, the unofficial score was 221-117, Wailers over Radicals... and then the NSOs did their review. The Radicals' score came up a few points, the Wailers gained one, there seemed to be a tie, things got a little fuzzy, and when everything was said and done, the Wailers had won, 222-221. Both teams put on quite a show, and the sportswomanship really impressed us. Congrats to both teams on a fantastic bout!
Bout 2: Beat City Bedrockers vs. Shoreline Bella Donnas
This bout wasn't nearly as close as the first one, but it was just as much fun to watch. Once again, it took the home team a good chunk of the first half to figure out their opponents, but once they did, it was in the bag. The bulk of the points for both teams were scored during power jams, and there were a LOT of them.
Halfway through the first half, the scorekeeper's computer bricked, but the venue swooped in and had their old-school analog scoreboard hooked up within a couple of jams, so we barely noticed the interruption. The new scoreboard lighting up coincided with the Bedrockers taking the lead, and the Bella Donnas, despite a strong effort, couldn't get it back for the rest of the bout. Things wrapped up with the Bedrockers winning 288-192.
With that, we bid the derby-blogging world farewell. Thanks for everything, and we'll see you around!
