Montréal, QC

By Artsy Choke

Day three of this playoff weekend here in Montreal started with another game between two non-US teams as Kallio Rolling Rainbow of Helsinki, Finland took on Sun State Roller Girls of Brisbane, Australia for the 9th spot in the tournament.

Photo by Marc-Antoine Vachon

The game started with a 10 point jam for Sun State to 0 for Kallio after Finnish jammer Sara Gilbert picked up a penalty. The following jams were more conservative and both teams kept scoring low. The highest scoring jammers of the period were Kallio’s Leila Gay and Pretty Sick, both with 13 point jams. Sun State’s highest scoring jam of the first half, nine points, was netted by Trauma Junkie.

Sun State blocker Stixx Bonez showed smart defensive play, getting the jammer out and forcing her to call off the jam during her first scoring pass. During jam 12, Kallio was only three points behind and ended up gaining a 10 point lead in the following jam. Kallio ended the period up 68 to Sun State’s 63.

Photo by Matthew Becker

During the second period, Kallio blockers showed how they played their game by setting up slow and controlled walls. Sun State lead most of the period with 15 leads out of 22 jams. In jam 15, Kallio blockers relentlessly recycled the Sun State jammer, forcing Australia’s Trauma Junkie to pass the start to Dodge & Bolt and leaving them scoreless while Kallio’s Pretty Sick put up 23 points. The highest-scoring jam of the game came from Kallio jammer Sara Gilbert, who netted 27 points.

The pace of the game slowed down a lot by the end of the period, as both teams showed a clean and controlled play.

After two periods, Sun State emerged on top, taking the 9th spot in the tournament. Jammer Trauma Junkie said the team “needed to win …They wanted this one so bad … I think this is what led us there.”

Final Score

Sun State Roller Girls (#8) 155
Kallio Rolling Rainbow (#7) 148