Maine’s Port Authorities Dismiss Montreal, 185-59
September 13, 2008
The following excerpt was written by Pussy Venom of the Boston Derby Dames and published on Derby News Network.
PORTLAND, ME — On September 13th, Maine Roller Derby’s #30 ranked Port Authorities hosted Montreal’s non-WFTDA travel team with the campy moniker of New Skids on the Block — and sent the Canadians back over the border on the business end of a 185-59 defeat.
On paper, the histories of the two leagues appeared to make them a comparable match-up. Both leagues started in the spring of 2006, are comprised of roughly 30 skaters, and have had a similar rate of success in interleague play over the past year. However, the disparity in interleague opponents seems to have given Maine’s Port Authorities a hand up.
While Maine fought a good fight against #14 Boston Massacre and pulled off a surprising win against #23 Providence’s Rhode Island Riveters, most of Montreal’s interleague play has been against unranked, non-WFTDA leagues — their one battle against a WFTDA team was a win over the lowest-ranked league in the organization, #50 Long Island.
Both teams were playing with short rosters, Portland down one (Jacked Rabbit), and Montreal down five of their normal roster including Jess Bandit, an experienced blocker and jammer. Romeo and Charlotte Bruise-a-lot filled in for the two missing Canadians, leaving both teams with only eleven players. Endurance levels on both teams were expected to play a significant role in this bout.
With crowded bleachers and an overcrowded beer garden, the bout began with Killer Quick on the line for Maine and MVP Iron Wench jamming for Montreal. In a showing that would prove common throughout the bout, Wench acquired lead jammer status with aggressive maneuvers, but failed to outscore her opponent. Maine has a consistently strong jammer lineup, comprised mostly of Killer Quick, MVP Olive Spankins, & Jones N, who required little assistance through the pack in this game. Montreal’s principal jammers were Georgia W. Tush, Beater Pan-tease, and Iron Wench, the MVP who clearly dominated their jammer roster.
In the first period, Maine’s pack contained Montreal jammers Tush and Beater without much difficulty. Contributing to this was the ease with which Maine’s jammers slipped through the pack, leaving the Maine blockers to focus solely on defense. It became clear early on that the Montreal blockers’ tendency to focus on timed shoulder hits to the outside was not going to serve them well against Maine’s jammers, who are adept at eliciting whiffs from opponents in such circumstances.
Though Montreal’s jammer efforts were valiant and certainly not lacking in tenacity, they were in need of much stronger offensive play from their teammates to break Maine’s efficient line of defense. With hard-hitting blockers like Punchy O’ Guts and The Mom Bomb forming a defensive wall in the front of the pack, and Patty O’Mean, Breezey or Daisy Cutter dominating the back, it was no easy task for Montreal’s jammers to break through in the first pass, and they were held at a mere 15 points in period one, while Maine racked up 110 points.
Though their 95-point deficit at the half showed that Montreal was definitely the underdog in this competition, the Canadians took the track with renewed fury in period two. Despite a rotating cast of blockers in the penalty box, they tightened up defense, with several notable jammer takedowns by Georgia W. Tush and Rae Volver, and some imposing pivoting skills on display from Boxcar Bethy.
Jammers Wench and Tush also strived to improve their timing when calling the jam in this period. By the time the period clock ran out, the Port Authorities were only able to increase their lead by an additional 31 points. The final score read 185-59, another impressive notch on Maine’s belt, and a showcasing of Montreal’s perseverance and capacity to refocus during period break and emerge from the locker room a stronger team.
Montreal is next in action against a home team from Gotham, the Brooklyn Bombshells, on September 27. The Maine all-stars take on non-WFTDA Coal City on October 11.
Additional reporting: Maude Forbid
