Montréal, QC

By Whacks Poetic

The final game of Saturday night at 2016 International WFTDA Division 1 Playoffs Montréal saw two original WFTDA member leagues meet for the very first time in their illustrious derby history. The Dallas Derby Devils from Dallas, Texas, USA were riding a high from their dominating play over Kallio Rolling Rainbow from Helsinki, Finland. The Detroit Derby Girls had over 24 hours off to recover from their brutal loss to London Rollergirls from London, England, UK last night. While both teams looked to be struggling with fatigue, the Dallas Derby Devils built up enough of a lead that a last quarter surge from Detroit was not enough, taking the win 206-171.

Photo by Marc-Antoine Vachon

Neither team looked their best at the start of the game. However, Jilleanne Rookard looked the best she has looked this weekend wearing the Detroit jammer star. While Dallas formations were falling apart, Rookard danced her way to 18 points in the first fifteen minutes of the game. Dallas switched up their jammer rotation again with Sparrow Dynamic taking the place on the jammer line that Acute Pain had in their previous game that day. Their top three jammers, Anita Riot, Miley Virus, and Jett, looked strong in the first half, but their fourth and fifth jammer positions struggled. The first half also saw Feta Sleeze struggling with big hits being delivered from Animal Lee, Bayleigh Wheat, and Blakely for Dallas. Rookard drew first blood going 7-0 in the first jam, but Dallas rebounded with a 5-0 jam for Miley Virus. The score was closely traded in the opening minutes with the score reading 19-18 for Dallas after seven minutes. Rookard would take the lead for Detroit again on a 9-0 jam with eleven minutes played. With the game tied, a late call off by Bazooka Bubble Bum led to Detroit stealing the jam 3-2 and the scoreboard reading 35-34 halfway through the period. Dallas responded with a 4-0 jam by Anita Riot. Another late call, this time by Miley Virus, would allow Detroit to win another jam a couple of minutes later and bring the game back to one point difference. With six minutes left on the period clock, the score read 71-70 for Detroit and Jett took the line against Feta Sleeze. Feta Sleeze was unable to get out of the pack and Jett put up 19 points for Dallas. The remainder of the half saw Dallas’ lead grow with the scoreboard reading 102-79 for the Texans as the teams headed to their locker rooms.

Photo by Ville Päivätie

The second half saw some changes for Detroit. Rookard was used sparingly, looking injured, and Cookie Rumble took her place on the jammer line. Feta Sleeze and Racer McChaseHer were doing double duty as blockers and jammers, resulting in some sloppy play from Racer while wearing the star. She ended up in the box 4 times in her first two second half trips to the jammer line, and Dallas pulled further away. With just under twenty minutes left, their lead had grown to 169-94 and the only successful jam Detroit had was by Cookie Rumble, a 9-4 win against Sparrow Dynamic. Cookie Rumble’s second donning of the star was even better. She put up a 14-0 power jam against Jett to breathe life into a tired Detroit team. As play continued, the wear and tear of already having played over two and a half games of derby this weekend began to show on both teams. Skaters on both teams started missing blocks and stumbling to hold their edges. With ten minutes left, Jilleanne Rookard had another successful jam for Detroit, going 17-4, but had to call the jam with Bazooka Bubble Bum in the penalty box with the Dallas star due to injury. Feta Sleeze, in contrast to the other skaters on the track, looked stronger as the night went on and took over where Rookard left off with a 7-1 jam for Detroit bringing the score to 192-137. An invigorated Michigan team went on to dominate the remainder of the game 34-14, but it was not enough to overcome Dallas’ sizeable lead. In the final jam of the game, Swift Justice, wearing the star for Detroit, earned lead, fell into the infield, and called it as the pack swept her back up with 29 seconds left on the period clock. Unfortunately, Detroit had no way to stop the clock and had to watch as it ticked down to zero before another jam would start, losing the game 206-171.

Dallas Derby Devils will face Boston Roller Derby from Boston, Massachusetts, USA at 2:00 p.m. EDT tomorrow hoping to win fifth place. Detroit takes on Rocky Mountain Rollergirls at noon in the seventh place game.

Final Score

Dallas Derby Devils (#5) 206
Detroit Derby Girls (#9) 171