WFTDA Preview: #17 Carolina @ Minnesota

By Justice Feelgood Marshall, Last updated Fri Oct 16 2009 1:13am

ST. PAUL, MN -- In a bout with all sorts of compelling angles, the hosts of the recent 2009 Eastern Regionals, the Carolina Rollergirls, travel up to Minnesota to face the hosts of the North Central Regionals, the Minnesota Rollergirls. Both teams are coming off unsuccessful outings at those tournaments, unable to secure one of the top three spots that would have sent them to November's WFTDA Nationals tournament -- but the Carolina / Minnesota matchup is a particularly historic one between two of the longest-established leagues in the sport.

This is the third full-length meeting between the two teams, with each team having taken one so far ... but those games, in November 2005 and January 2006, are practically ancient history, actually predating a standardized WFTDA ruleset. In the November 2005 bout, Minnesota and Carolina faced off in Minnesota, and for nearly 4 years, that 237-173 Minnesota win stood as the highest-scoring flat-track roller derby match ever ... until Texas blew up the scoreboard in a 451-8 flattening of the Oklahoma Victory Dolls this May. Both teams still retain some of the members from that bout -- Carolina brings vets Maddat U, Shirley Temper and Princess America, while Minnesota will be skating Mitzi Massacre and Misfit Maiden.

Minnesota's record for the 2009 season stands at a tough 3-5, and their difficult run at North Central regionals -- an expected loss to the top seed Windy City, followed by a narrow upset loss to cross-town rivals North Star and finally a defeat of the stumbling Grand Raggidy -- left them 9th out of 10 teams in the tournament and dropped them out of DNN's unofficial top 25. Officially, they stand at #6 in North Central, pending the post-tournament WFTDA quarterly ranking vote. They've got a chance to show that NC regionals weekend was an aberration with a strong showing here though.

Carolina is also a team that had an unexpectedly rough season, so far 4-7 -- with almost all of those wins coming against lowly-ranked leagues Naptown, Dominion and Providence. They did score a 1-point squeaker of a win over Nationals-bound Boston in June, but Boston got comprehensive revenge at Easterns, where they sunk Carolina 112-40 in the opening round. Beyond that, Carolina has lost solidly to a wide cross-section of tough national competitors this year -- 51 points to Rat City, 58 points to Rose City, 35 points to Detroit, 27 points to Charm City, 154 points to Gotham, and 39 points to Philly. They're unofficially ranked #17 in the nation by DNN, and are still technically #4 in the WFTDA Eastern Region despite finishing in 5th place at their tournament.

For Carolina, this bout sees some big returns -- league founder Celia Fate is back on the all-star roster for the first time this year, longtime vet Shirley Temper is back on skates after giving birth to twins in June, and MC Fyte is back after ACL surgery. Minnesota, on the other hand, will be saying goodbye to one of their mainstays, as longtime fan favorite Harmony Killerbruise moves to Washington after the bout. One newer name on the Minnesota roster, Jax Kvaas, is not actually a new face -- it's MNRG vet Frau Scientits, joining the small but growing number of skaters now using their government names for interleague play.

Coochie Coup 333 // Harmony Killerbruise 75 // Honeydew Felon 25 // Lexicuter 187 // Misfit Maiden 313 // Mitzi Massacre 3 // Psycho Novia 109 // Scarmen Hellectra 28 // Suzie Smashbox 91 // Sweet Justice i4Ni // Venus Thightrap 55 // Tiki Torture H8U // Vuedoo Prodigy 69 // Jax Kvaas 23

Bianca O'blivion 83 // Celia Fate 00 // Daisy Rage 66 // Deviled Legs 8 // DVS 131 // Elka Meano 454 // Holly Wanna Crackya 999 // Kitty Crowbar 110 // Maddat U 256 // MC Fyte 12rounds // Pink Slip 224 // Princess America 1492 // Roxxy Slide 1.618 // Shirley Temper 56