Boston Controls Maine, 128-24

By Ruby Khan, Last updated Thu Mar 19 2009 6:55pm

BOSTON, MA -- Move over David Ortiz, the Boston Massacre are Beantown’s new grand slam champions.

In a bout that saw Boston’s score rise in fits and starts—and by fives and tens—jammers Claire D. Way, Krushpuppy, Maura Buse, and Sugar Hits turned in a total of 19 grand slams toward a 104-point landslide over Maine Roller Derby’s Port Authorities.

It was Boston’s season opener, and the packed crowd at Shriners Auditorium was enthusiastic even though the bout lacked the drama of a close score or flagrant misconduct. Boston has been a mentor league for Maine, and the teams’ similar focus on pack fundamentals was evident although the Port Authorities still came up short against their derby sisters.

Jam #1 saw Boston’s Claire D. Way getting lead on Maine’s Olive Spankins, but Olive overtook Claire immediately and forced her to call it before either team scored. In jam #2 Krushpuppy put her team on the board with a double grand slam while Maine’s Killer Quick remained stuck behind Shellby Shattered. Both of these repeated again and again through the first period: Boston doing their trap-and-lap, and Maine forcing 0-0 by drafting or overtaking the opposing jammer.

Spankins and Killer were the Port Authorities’ go-to jammers. Both can pass a pack on the outside with considerable speed, and Spankins (like her opponent Claire D. Way) is especially adept at ducking blockers. When they were able to rely on momentum and agility to cut through the pack, they made it look easy. But despite well-timed mid-pack offense by skaters like Lois Blow, Breezey, and team captain The Mom Bomb, Maine’s jammers frequently hit a wall of navy blue as Boston owned the front of the pack.

Shattered, Maura Buse, and Massacre MVP Lois Carmen Dominator all took turns slowing Maine jammers to a crawl, while their teammates came along with a do-si-do of replacement blocking that pushed them to the back of the pack. Hard hitters Etta Maims and Harley Quinn both contributed their share of jammer takedowns.

At halftime, Boston had put 66 points up on the board while Maine hadn't yet broken single digits at 9. The second half was nominally closer at 62-15, but Boston's dominance was evident in the final score of 128-24.

Maine’s blockers shone brightest when there was enough track distance between the jammers for them to focus on pure defense. Although Claire D. Way still managed to put up nearly a quarter of Boston’s points, that total might have been higher if it weren’t for frequent triple-teaming by Maine, often led by Port Authorities MVP Lois Blow and punctuated by hard hits from Punchy O’Guts. Boston’s Maura Buse says, “Maine blockers were pretty relentless and could really slow me down when they all swarmed around me and attacked.”

Notably, this bout was comfortably into the second period before either team had a jammer in the penalty box for any reason. Soon after, both Spankins and KPup would be called on track cutting penalties, forcing a reset jam where Maura Buse was able to turn in a double grand slam that put Boston at the century mark.

Despite strong individual performances, Maine’s teamwork wasn’t yet as cohesive as Boston’s, but their tenacity and endurance make them a team to watch. With a schedule that includes match-ups against Baltimore, Providence, and Philadelphia, they will surely enter the 2009 tournament season with an expanded bag of tricks.

Stats-wise, Boston was slightly more penalized than Maine, with Boston picking up 11 major penalties and 59 minors against 9 majors and 49 minors for Maine. Krushpuppy was the Boston high scorer with 49 points, while Olive Spankins led Maine with 14.

Both leagues play Baltimore’s Charm City Roller Girls next: Boston hosts them at Shriners on March 21 and Maine takes them on at the Portland Expo the following day. Boston also faces off against national champion Gotham Girls Roller Derby at GGRD’s season opener on March 28.

Photos: Tom Luongo