Milwaukee, WI

By Shelly Shankya

Rocky Mountain Rollergirls took on the Angel City Derby Girls in Game 2 of the WFTDA Championships on Friday afternoon. The two teams, tightly matched, kept the pack pace at lightning speed. Rocky’s high number of penalties gave Angel City the early advantage. While Rocky Mountain clawed their way back into the lead at times, Angel City fought back to win 228-198.

Photo by Steve Jurkovic Photography

While Rocky Mountain drew first blood, Angel City managed to take a 35-0 point run in jams seven through nine, off of two power jams as Rox Yorr Soxov and Alpha Q Up both cut the track. Rocky Mountain blocker May Q Pay managed to hold Mickispeedia single-handedly after blocker Gaygan got a two minute penalty for an out of play major and then an insubordination for skating on the track to the penalty box. For several minutes, the penalty box was a revolving door for the Rocky Mountain skaters, both jammers and blockers. The team accrued 20 penalty minutes in the first period.

At one point Angel City managed to pull away from Rocky Mountain by 50 points with only four minutes remaining in the first half. The last two jams of the period, however, were a strong turn-around for Rocky, as jammer Casstrator scored 26 points to Chica Go Lightning’s 11 points. Then, in the last jam of the half, Angel City jammer Mickispeedia got a high block, giving Toxic Taunic 25 points, bringing the score within only 10 points, 91-101 in favor of Angel City.

“Our team had a come to Jesus moment during the half after Rocky managed to get so close to us,” Krissy Krash said. “We reminded each other to stay on the track. We promised each other we would stay on the track in the second period.”

Rocky Mountain jammer Casstrator used the power jam start in the second period to bring the points back within one, 100-101, and then going for a lead change in the second jam. The lead change didn’t last long, however, as Rocky Mountain blocker Gaygan went to the box for her fifth penalty, leaving Rocky down a blocker and giving Chica Go Lightning the lead. Blockers from Angel like Krissy Krash, Soledad, and Chinese Checker worked to clear a path for jammer Satan’s Little Helper to score 20 points, giving the Derby Girls a clearer lead with 20 minutes remaining in the second, 134-109.

“It’s really all about trusting each other,” Krissy Krash said. “We trust in our walls. We have faith in our jammers. And when we keep four blockers on the track it gives us a little more lenience to play offense as well. And when we can do all that, we play our best.”

Photo by Jules Doyle

A jammer do-si-do in the eleventh jam had the fans screaming in disbelief, as both jammers, Toxic Taunic for Rocky and Mickispeedia for Angel City, spent seconds in the penalty box. The jammer change-out ultimately resulted in a lead change for Rocky Mountain. Back-to-back penalties had Angel jammer Mickispeedia on the track as the jammer for five jams, from jam nine until jam 13. A panty pass to pivot Chris Dobbins in the thirteenth jam got Mickispeedia off of the track, but at the end of all of the struggling, Rocky came out on top, 163-143.

“When Micki went to the box and then had to stay on the track for so many jams, we had to trust each other to know that we could keep our heads in the game,” Krissy Krash said. “We literally looked each other in the eyes to remind ourselves that we could win the game.”

The penalties started to even out in the second half, keeping the action on the track intense. Each team had multiple blockers sitting at five and six penalties with only five minutes remaining. Chica Go Lightning created some momentum for Angel City, followed by a power jam for Ghetto Fabu-lez, allowing the ladies from the City of Angels a chance to assert their blocking power to keep Rocky from making a run for the Saturday game. Satan’s Little Helper sealed the win for Angel after gaining lead jammer in the final jam.

Final Score

Rocky Mountain Rollergirls (Asheville #2) 198
Angel City Derby Girls (Richmond #3) 228

Angel City Derby Girls advance to Game 6 against the Denver Roller Dolls on Saturday at noon.