DC (#10) and Montreal (#3) battle it out for 5th place

By Vile Love It

In the battle for fifth place Montreal's New Skids on the Block (#3), Montreal, Quebec met the DC All Stars on the track in a game that was almost a demonstration of “meat and potatoes” roller derby.

Photo by Kelli Catana

Throughout the game, what worked for Montreal was this: their jammer burst through the pack to earn lead jammer, their walls held DC's jammer back for as long as possible, Montreal's jammer scored two or three or four points on one scoring pass, and called it off before DC's jammer could score.

Yes, there were power jams. And yes, there were times when Montreal scored more than 4 points. And there were times when DC's jammers turned the tables and served back a little of their own meat and potatoes (without the poutine).

It was five minutes into the game before DC was able to score; their rookie jammer Frightmare raced out of the pack, earned lead, and put the first points for her team on the board.

Montreal played an incredibly fast game and DC struggled to hold on to their walls. The fast game worked for Montreal's crew of intrepid jammers.

DC's jammers did their best to adapt and Lenore Gore succeeded in running the gauntlet of Montreal blockers as she juked every which way but up. But more often than not, she returned to the bench scoreless as Montreal's jammer tapped her hips at the perfect time.

Montreal's jammers were adept at finding the tiny hole along the inside (or the outside) and scooted through to grab lead jammer often, and DC's blockers were frequently just a second too late to stop them.

Halfway through the first half Montreal had a commanding 78-12 lead. During one jam, with Montreal's Iron Wench holding lead jammer status, she gambled too long as she tried to hold DC's jammer Lenore Gore behind her and Lenore was able to grab 3 points while Iron Wench remained scoreless. That was a rare mistake.

Early in the next jam, Montreal's The Honey Badger went to the box and DC's Frightmare skipped through the reduced Montreal pack on a power jam. By the end of the jam she had pulled her team to within 42 points.

DC's walls consistently had trouble containing Montreal's jammers who seemed to easily break through them with a well placed bump to one of DC's players. But DC kept fighting and as the half wound down, their walls became tighter and their jammers were able to grab a few more points. At the half it was Montreal 128 to DC 72.

Montreal quickly built on the lead they had in the first half using the same tactics that had worked so well. They kept the pack speed fast and the pressure tight on DC's jammers.

They held DC scoreless for 16 minutes in the second half, putting up three or four points almost every jam. DC's first points of the half came when Chinese Cheker donned the star, plowed through the pack to earn lead jammer, and was able to score and call it off before Montreal could score any points. Montreal held a commanding lead 222-78.

With 8:30 left in the game Montreal's Iron Wench headed to the penalty box and DC's Jersey Jill made a quick scoring pass through the pack. On her second pass though, she also went to the box and Iron Wench was released. When the whistles blew Montreal was at 291 to DC's 91.

With almost two minutes left DC's Frightmare burst through the pack, grabbed lead jammer, and sped through the Montreal blockers. She furiously tapped her hips to grab her four and call it before Montreal could score. Elated, she ripped off her helmet cover to spin it in her fingers above her head. Even though Montreal was in total control of the game, DC was still “bringing the battle.”

“We've had an amazing weekend so far. We decided to bring the battle to Montreal. We have great respect for Montreal, they are a really great team. We kept that up for most of the game,”said DC's Soledad.“No one expected the number 10 team to leave here at number 6. We wanted to bring our best. Today, our best didn't win fifth place but not a single person on our team or supporting us at home is disappointed.”

All in all, Montreal was pleased with their performance:

“Last year we had the same game and we ended up giving up our 5th place spot. Since we couldn't have third place we wanted the next best thing,”said Montreal's Georgia W. Tush. “For us it was really important to stay focused and calm. We struggled to do that at the end, but we did our best to stay focused and not get distracted.”

New Skids on the Block (#3) 252 - 5th Place
DC All Stars (#10) 112 - 6th Place