One win and one loss at home for TCRG

by Tiki Timebomb, photos by Nicolas Charest for RollerGirl.ca

In what seems to be a theme for Season 6, Terminal City Rollergirls fans were treated yet again to a pair of intensely close bouts on May 5th at Minoru Arena in Richmond, which just happened to also be the the six-year anniversary of TCRG’s inaugural bout, Derby De Mayo. The Riot Girls had their first home-turf win of the year, 147-139 against Washington's Whidbey Island Rollergirls, and the Anarchy Angels (from neighbour league The Mainland Misfits) edged out Public Frenemy 156-126.

Justine Timberskate on the breakaway.

The showcase of the Riot Girl's rookie talent kicked off with a tight start. Both teams nickel-and-dimed their points, until Riot Girls' jammers Savage Mind and D.A. DaRuckus scored two consecutive 10-point power jams, and gained a significant lead on Whidbey Island. With rookie jammer Justine TimberSkate cutting through the pack like a shark through calm waters, and Hurt Russell inflicting some serious blocking damage, the Soldiers of Awesome seemed unstoppable. But penalty trouble started accumulating, and Whidbey Island pulled up behind the lead to a close 72-82 at the half. Both teams kept the jams short and sweet at the start of the second period, until a triumphant 20-point power jam by Whidbey Island triple threat Nana Nana Bruise You pushed them into the lead. With just a few jams left, the score sat at 135-115 in favour of the Whidbey Islanders. In a final burst of strength and speed, the rookie jammer juggernaut of The Golden Snitch and Justine Timberskate each shut out the Whidbey Island jammers 4-0. And with one colossal 23-point power jam, the Riot Girls proved that the team with the Golden Snitch really does win the game (147-139).

The Anarchy Angels managed to shut out Public Frenemy for the first several jams of the second bout, until PF's jammer Deathly Innocent put the first points on the board. The Angels’ pack strategy was smart, but Frenemy vets DeCent and Pretty Painful chipped away at their lead while the Angels’ jammers were sucked into the tractor beam of Chic and Twisted’s solid defense. A 25-point power jam by Pretty put Frenemy in the lead, but it was short-lived. The Angels regained their ground, and sat at 81-58 by halftime. The second period saw Frenemy come back hard, keeping the Angels’ points low and catching up. Angels player Mala Justed caused a ton of trouble for Frenemy both with or without the star on her helmet, with her strong leadership and smart jamming. DeCent and Pretty scored another pair of power jams, bringing Frenemy once again into the lead at 105-85. The Angels didn't relent and continued to strategically draw penalties on Frenemy's blockers which finally allowed the Angels to regain the lead, along with help from a huge jam by Mz E Deck’er. Another power jam by Frenemy rookie Flamin’ Jane brought the score to a nail-biting 126-126 tie, and it seemed like Frenemy would pull through. Those were the last points that wold be scored by TCRG. With continued strategy and aggressive defense, the Angels packed on another 30 points over the last five jams and took the win with a final score of 156-126.

Jammer Pretty Painful (C, in green) negotiates her way through the Angels' strong pack.

Next up for the Riot Girls is a bout vs. last year's TCRG champions, the Faster Pussycats on June 9 at Minoru Arena, where Vancouver will also get a chance to see the Terminal City All-Stars take on Seattle's Rat City Rollergirls, one of the top ten women's teams in the world.