DENVER, CO -- September 12th put the #18 Minnesota Rollergirls in Denver to take on #25 DRD’s Mile High Club. Minnesota recently faced some tough losses against Bay Area and Rose City, while Denver has been recovering from matches against some of roller derby’s greats like Gotham and Carolina. Both teams are gearing up for regionals – DRD for the west, Minnesota for the east – and while Denver is looking to climb the WFTDA rankings, Minnesota is trying to regain glory as a 2006-2007 powerhouse that has slipped down the ladder in 2008.
The night began with Angela Death facing off on the jammer line against Harmony Killerbruise. Angela gained lead and grabbed three points for her team, while Denver’s defense held Harmony back long enough for Angela to call off the jam while ahead.
This would set the tone for the beginning half of the night – Denver jammers Abbey Rogue, Sheila Tack and Jersey Trouble joined Angela in gaining lead jammer in all but four jams of the first period and slowly and consistently put points on the board while blockers Disco-A-GoGo, Fiona Grapple and Bria Fraid kept Minnesota from leaving the pack.
Up-and-comer Abbey Rogue secured a ten point jam for her team in the sixth jam of the night that put Denver in a comfortable lead of 23 to 5, while Jawbreaker from Minnesota answered back two jams later with nine points for her team. Halftime put Denver at 61, Minnesota 25.
Minnesota came back from the break with a stronger showing, with Harmony Killerbruise and Suzie Smashbox gaining lead jammer much more than in the period prior. Blockers Vuedoo Prodigy and Demora Liza joining solid blocker/jammer Jawbreaker in putting up a strong fight for Minnesota as their team pushed more points on the scoreboard, and both teams seemed to change their focus to heavier defense for the second half of the game – Minnesota remained scoreless for ten of the eighteen jams while Denver didn’t pick up points in eleven of their turns on the track.
An eight point run from Denver jammer Slick Vick in the middle of the period as the Minnesota jammer sat in the penalty box secured the home team’s already solid lead, however. The night ended with Denver at 89, Minnesota 57.
Denver's next match will be on the opening day of Western Regionals, as they enter as the lowest seed and will be sure to have their hands full with #5 seed Rose City -- that bout is on Friday, October 3. Minnesota, going into the following weekend's Eastern Regionals as the #9 seed, plays tournament host and #8 seed Madison on Friday, October 10.
Photo: Andrew Dittmeier
