Detroit, MI

By Shelly Shankya

Emerald City Roller Girls (#3) of Eugene, Oregon, played with a looming haze of penalties in the first period of Game 8 of the 2015 International WFTDA Division 2 Playoffs against the Brewcity Bruisers (#9) of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, but the ladies in green managed to fight past the haze to defeat Brewcity.

Photo by Danforth Johnson

The first period of play saw Emerald City jammers in the box six times, and although that is nothing new for the team – averaging eight jammer penalties in sanctioned play for 2015 – it allowed for some upset-style play for Brewcity. Taking the lead in the second jam, Brewcity’s jammer Skully Wheeler skated against only one blocker as Emerald blockers sat in the box. The 23-point jam paved the way for Brewcity in the period’s opening minutes. Two back-to-back jammer penalties for Emerald put the team in a bit of a kerfuffle, and the team called a timeout with only 8 minutes down in the period. It wasn’t until jam 12 that Emerald City asserted their seeding to come back on a 19-point jam to regain the lead in the game. The penalty box during that jam remained full, as a total of 8 penalties sat skaters.

The teams played neck-and-neck until the final jams of the period. There was a 17-point spread in the 17th jam with just 6 minutes left on the period clock. Big hits from Emerald City blockers like Miss Kitty La Rue and Coop, however, made it possible for the team’s jammers to accrue 28 points in the final five jams of the period while Brewcity remained scoreless. The period closed with Emerald City at 129 points and 26 penalties (six jammer penalties) and Brewcity Bruisers at 84 points and 25 penalties (only two jammer penalties).

With a 45-point deficit, Brewcity entered the second period only to allow the deficit to grow in a 45-4 point exchange in the first six jams. Brewcity jammers Skully Wheeler and Latina Heat sat in the penalty box for two back-to-back jams, which allowed Emerald jammer Psychotic Rage to score 27 points, the largest jammer score of the game. Jammer penalties continued to plague Brewcity Bruisers throughout the period, and by the end of the game, the two teams exchanged nearly an even number of jammer time in the box, nine to Emerald City and eight to Brewcity. However, Emerald City managed to make better use of their power jams, scoring 86 points on six power jams in the second half; Brewcity, on the other hand, scored only 42 points on three power jams.

The game ended with a 128-point differential between the two teams, and Emerald City will move on to play Bear City (#10) in Game 11 on Saturday at 6:00 p.m. Brewcity Bruisers will play the Boulder County Bombers (#7) in Game 13 on Sunday at 10:00 a.m.; the teams will play for ninth place.

Final Score

Emerald City Roller Girls (#3) 279
Brewcity Bruisers (#9) 151