Boston (#7) battles Carolina (#8) to keep their spot

By Vile Love It

In a highly defensive game, the Carolina Rollergirls (#8), Raleigh, NC battled the Boston Derby Dames (#7), Boston, MA for the right to trade rankings.

Photo by Kelli Catana

Fans saw both teams bring incredible energy and drive to this game. What fans didn't know was that this was the final game for some players (and a bench coach) from both teams, which made the bout an emotional one for both teams.

“Going into this game we knew we had nothing to lose. We were playing with house money. The worse we were going to do was to come out exactly where we were when we came in,”said Carolina's Holly Wannacrackya. “Our goal was to make strong walls and to stay positive and support each other.”

“When I leave a tournament I don't remember what happened in the game, I remember what happened in the locker room. I remember how we treated each other.”

The teams traveled similar trajectories throughout this weekend's tournament. Boston won their first game handily and then fell to Philly and Montreal. Carolina won their first game to advance and play Gotham. After that loss they also lost to DC in a tight game.

The fight was evident from the first jam with both teams holding tight cycling walls and each team's jammers pulling every juking trick out of her bag.

Boston gave up two early power jams and Carolina did their best to capitalize, but Boston didn't make it easy for them. They were only able to score 9 points in each jam.

With just over ten minutes in the first period and the score at Carolina 42 Boston 25, Carolina's jammer Thrashley headed to the penalty box and Boston had the advantage. By the end of the jam Boston had pulled to within 7 points of Carolina.

With Carolina down to two blockers and a jammer, Boston's jammer Ginger Kid made quick work of the short pack to bring her team to within 3 of Carolina.

Next jam, Boston's Ivanna Shankabitch sprinted through the pack to grab lead but Carolina's Jojo Gadget wasn't far behind her. Both skaters made a quick scoring pass, during which Jojo hopped the apex to keep up with Shank. It was an exciting jam, and ended in a tie with both jammers scoring 8 points.

Right before halftime, Carolina had a power jam. They pulled the pack to a stop and their jammer battled through Boston's blockers to grab 15 points and pull her team further ahead. At the half the score was Carolina 77 Boston 56.

Both teams upped the speed and the ante as the second half started and the crowd's cheers got louder. Eight minutes into the period, with a series of jams where Boston won lead and was able to call it off before Carolina could score, Boston pulled back up to within 3 points.

Carolina answered, edging further ahead, and then it was Boston's turn, back to within 3 and then, to the crowd's loud glee, Boston pulled ahead to take the lead since the first jam of the game. It was a 2-point game.

After an official timeout, it was announced that Carolina's Jessie King had fouled out of the game. This didn't stop Carolina who grabbed lead jammer and regained the lead. It didn't last long though. In the very next jam, Carolina's jammer Holly Wannacrackya headed to the penalty box and Ivanna Shankabitch was on a power jam.

Boston's blockers corralled Carolina's skaters every time Shank came into the pack, and by the end of the jam Boston had pulled away by 30 points.

However, there was 16:23 left on the clock–a lot of derby was left to play.

“This was the last game for some of my teammates and we really felt the significance of this weekend and this moment. It was the last time we were going to be this team with these people and we wanted to skate together as best as we could,”said Boston's Anna Wrecksya.“We focused on playing together and playing tight.”

“We came in as an underdog and so we had everything to prove and nothing to lose. We fought really hard and did everything we had been practicing this year and we did it well.”

Carolina began to fall apart about halfway through the period: their blockers travelled a well-worn path to the penalty box. But then Boston's Lil' Paine was sent to the penalty box and Carolina, 34 points down, started on a much needed power jam.

It was a micro pack with two blockers for each team and Carolina's Holly Wannacrackya made quick work of the pack. Two Boston blockers traded places in the penalty box and it looked as if Carolina would make up the difference until a major back block call and Holly headed to the penalty box.

Lil' Paine was released and began her own power jam. By the time the whistles blew it was still a 29-point game, with Boston in the lead 140-111.

With five minutes left in the game, an official time out was called and the Boston fans quieted down enough to sing along with the official time out song courtesy of jam timer Ro$ Vega$'s precise time out dance.

Once the action started again Boston continued to earn lead jammer and Carolina continued to skate short. With three minutes left Boston had a comfortable lead 156-115.

The end of the game would depend on whether or not Boston's jammers could stay out of the penalty box; and they did.

In the last jam, Boston's Ivanna Shankabitch earned lead jammer and then, in an ending that was unlike the rest of the fast moving game, she slowly skated around the track while the clock ran down.

Boston Derby Dames (#7) 156 - 7th Place
Carolina Rollergirls (#8) 128 - 8th Place