Vancouver, BC

By Culta Skaro

The Terminal City Rollergirls of Vancouver, BC, Canada, fought through a physical game against Stockholm Roller Derby of Stockholm, Sweden to take home their second win of the day in Game 12 of the 2016 International WFTDA Division 1 Playoffs Vancouver. Stockholm held on to make a significant comeback at the end of the game, but it was too late to overcome the point deficit Terminal had built and the game ended with a 207-152 victory for Terminal City.

Photo by Brangwyn Jones

A Stockholm track cut in jam four let Bazinga establish an early lead for Terminal with some incredible footwork on the lines to evade big hits from Stockholm blockers. After calling the jam with Stockholm’s Maurine Filip still in the box, Maiden Sane was able to start jam five on a power jam to bring Terminal to a 33-2 lead.

Terminal walls were brutal—they shut down most of Stockholm’s jammers, created opportunities for their own jammers to put up multiple scoring passes, and were also able to kill power jams against them. The stability in Terminal’s walls even rendered early offense attempts by Stockholm unsuccessful and jammers would find themselves stuck in torturous defense.

Stockholm struggled as they began to run into penalty trouble in the first half, leaving just two blockers on the track on several occasions. Jammers also found themselves in the box—in jam 16, A. M. Chaos accumulated three penalties in less than a minute: a high block, an insubordination, and a forearm.

Photo by Keith Bielat

But the second half was a different game for Stockholm. Lil Slinky, who had earned 100 percent lead jammer status in the first half, was cycled into the jammer rotation more frequently and even went out in back-to-back jams on more than one occasion. Stockholm’s blockers began to play cleaner, allowing all four to stay on the track. Their walls proved to be challenging for Terminal City’s jammers with this reinforcement.

Stockholm took lead jammer in seven of the last eight jams of the game, holding Terminal scoreless for several rounds. Though they made the impressive feat of closing what had once been a 93-point differential, it wasn’t enough to sway the outcome of the game. Skilled offense by Terminal skaters like Scarlett Bloodbath and Brittany Palmer assisted their jammers and ensured that Stockholm’s late surge wouldn’t be enough to make up for their rocky start.

Lil Slinky was the highest scorer of the game with 89 points, and Maiden Sane came in after her with 73.

Terminal will play their final game of the tournament at 2 p.m. PT on Sunday against the Queen City Roller Girls of Buffalo, NY, USA (#9). Terminal will be looking for a win to finish in fifth place. Stockholm will play at 12 p.m. PT on Sunday against the Sacred City Derby Girls (#7) for seventh.

Final Score

Terminal City Rollergirls (#5) 207
Stockholm Roller Derby (#8) 152