Salt Lake City, UT

by Danger (ismymiddlename)

While the first game quarter was neck-and-neck with lead swapping, Montreal headed into the halftime break with a lead, and then commenced the second half in the same manner. The ending of the game, however, was reclaimed for Baltimore, Maryland’s Charm City Roller Girls by some key defensive wall-holds. These gave their jammers the chance to commit to sliding up the score to culminate in a breathless 1-point last-jam win against Montreal Roller Derby (from Montreal, Quebec, Canada), 143-142.

Photo by Donna Olmstead

This game started with a whimper rather than a bang, as both jammers hit unmoving walls in the initial whistle. But then as Mel E Juana took lead, and I.M.Pain was boxed and Montreal Roller Derby was able to use their power jam to add points. The first jam ended at 14-0, lead to Montreal. When I.M. Pain got back on the track in the next jam, she pushed up for a lead change to 17-14, as Montreal’s blocker Mange Moi El Cul’s last yard chasing couldn’t contain her.

When Susy Pow hit the track, Montreal had a 4:2 pack advantage and held her in the back, so she was only able to add 4 more. Next up, I.M.Pain was back in the jammer role in a star pass, but Honey Badger took a 10-0 jam, and the lead switched once again, to 24-21.

I.M.Pain and Mel E Juana were frequent jammers for their respective teams, and they definitely assisted with the points additions and lead swaps, ending the first quarter at 32-31 as Montreal forced a lead change once again. Then Charm City pushed up the score to take lead once again (they had matched 6-6 lead jammer statuses in the game till now), and took a team timeout with the score at 41-37, and 11:47 remaining in the period.

In the penultimate jam before the half-time whistle, Just Carol hit the track for Charm City, and was boxed, pushing Honey Badger back onto the track. A star pass resulted from a tough Charm blocking pack, and Honey Badger handed Smack Daddy the jammer star for the second time in the period. By halftime, the score sat at 66-59 in favor of Montreal.

After ending the first half on a high note, Montreal went on to control the third quarter of the game, mixing up their starting position by lining up at the pivot line. They then followed up in the next jam with a leaping grab for further points, gathering a full complement of 4 in the final whistle moments Montreal maintained a narrow lead for the first 10 minutes.

By the time Susy Pow started her jam, in Jam 10, both she and Montreal’s Honey Badger were firmly trapped behind a clustered, walled-off pack. But when they were both recycled and trying to return to the track simultaneously, Susy tapped Badger before they could get back on the track, causing her to stagger, and handing Susy a box call. Montreal made full use of the resultant power jam, striding into lead 98-85, headed into the final quarter.

Charm City took the second of their team timeouts, with just 11:15 to go and the score sitting at 111-91, with Montreal still holding the lead. Several jams later, Charm passed the star and then Montreal’s jammer tried to complete a star pass in the same jam, but Charm kept the jammer and pivot so far apart that they decided against it. Montreal maintained their narrowing lead.

Montreal jammer Ohi was then first engaged by her Charm counterpart IMPain, and then ran right into the back of the pack, winding up with a low-blocking penalty and gifting Charm a power jam. After they pushed into the lead 143-142, Charm took their final team timeout, to wind up with one extra final jam, playing right into the final second. With Pain jamming again and nabbing lead status as the clock ran out, Charm won by that single point, 143-142.

In the second game to end on this note, Montreal requested an official review for points tallying, disputing a point on what seemed to be a no pass no penalty call. However, since this happened on a repeat engagement on that blocker, the points stood.

Charm City moves on to the semifinals, and Montreal will continue play in the consolation bracket Saturday.

Final Score

(4) Charm City Roller Girls 143

(5) Montreal Roller Derby 142