Saturday, October 20, 2012. Fredericton, NB.
Well I've managed to squeeze in some end of season derby by bench managing a bout in Fredericton this past weekend! The Capital Exhibit Center is so far my favourite venue for derby. It is big enough to host a large number of fans yet still small enough to make the bout very up close and personal for them. The enthusiasm of the Fredericton crowd has yet to be topped in my experience too!
First up was Muddy River Rollers Daughters of Anarchy versus Fog City Rollers Scarlet Swarm. This bout was fun and energetic all around! To be honest though, as I was bench managing Swarm for this one, I was mainly paying attention to the bench instead of the track. A few early power jams put DOA at a relatively good lead in the first half and they widened it further by half time. Swarm was able to improve on defence and put some more points up on the board throughout the second half but though the point gap slowed, it did not shrink. The major difference I noticed was in the discipline of the DOA jammers. Decepticat (DOA) was heavily relied upon and managed to stay out of the box entirely throughout the whole bout. Another top jammer, Tootsie Valentino, only made two trips to the box. Though one of Swarms jammers (Sinnamon Twisted) managed to pull a no-penalty bout, the others had no such luck, collectively providing about fourteen power jams that DOA exploited admirably. Final score was 255 to 105.
First up was Muddy River Rollers Daughters of Anarchy versus Fog City Rollers Scarlet Swarm. This bout was fun and energetic all around! To be honest though, as I was bench managing Swarm for this one, I was mainly paying attention to the bench instead of the track. A few early power jams put DOA at a relatively good lead in the first half and they widened it further by half time. Swarm was able to improve on defence and put some more points up on the board throughout the second half but though the point gap slowed, it did not shrink. The major difference I noticed was in the discipline of the DOA jammers. Decepticat (DOA) was heavily relied upon and managed to stay out of the box entirely throughout the whole bout. Another top jammer, Tootsie Valentino, only made two trips to the box. Though one of Swarms jammers (Sinnamon Twisted) managed to pull a no-penalty bout, the others had no such luck, collectively providing about fourteen power jams that DOA exploited admirably. Final score was 255 to 105.
The second bout was Halifax Roller Derby Association
versus the Capital City Rollers
Daisy Cutters. These teams have faced each other twice at Slay of Fundy, each taking
one win, one loss. Once again, penalties came strongly into play in this bout
resulting in a significant win for the Daisy Cutters. During the first half
there were several lead changes, however in the second half the HRDA penalties
increased and resulted in many power jams for the Daisy Cutters and two skater
expulsions for HRDA. Both teams offered some breathtaking jammer moves (those
spontaneous seeming explosions of footwork/twirls/hit avoidance) and some teeth-rattling
hits. Unfortunately the penalty troubles for HRDA allowed Daisy Cutters to pull
ahead for a wide lead, with a final score of 331 to 191.
The New Brunswick leagues are collaborating on making an "All-Star" bout for late November, comprised of the best skaters from each league mixed up together into two teams and pitted against each other! I won't be able to make it to that one, unfortunately, but it will certainly be an impressive bout and the first of its kind in NB. I highly recommend keeping an eye out for details and making the effort to come out and watch!
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