ECDX Preview: (14) Charm City vs (20) Boston
FEASTERVILLE, PA -- Charm City's All-Stars and the Boston Massacre have an Eastern rivalry stretching back to 2007. Charm leads the all-time series 4-2, but currently seem to be in the ascendancy -- Boston hasn't gotten a win over Charm since defeating them in the third-place game of the 2009 Eastern Regionals.
Live on WFTDA.tv. Action begins at 6:30pm Eastern on Saturday, June 23.
The last time these two met Charm won 191-88 – the largest margin in the history of the fixture. That result put Charm through to the semifinals at Nightmare on 95 and put them on a path that ended with a third-place finish and a trip to Championships. Boston were upset by London after that and found themselves in a lowest-ever 7th place in the east.
But both teams have seen serious roster turnover for this season. Charm City have lost marquee skaters Joy Collision, Dolly Rocket and Just Carol, while Boston's roster is almost unrecognisable from last year. Fewer than half of the Massacre roster for ECDX took part in that 103-point loss at the East playoffs, with retirements, injuries and transfers accounting for the majority of last year's regional squad.
In 2012 Charm are currently 6-0, the first time they've started that well since 2009. While their first few victories were expected, their two wins at Brewhaha against Windy City and Minnesota seem to show they've shrugged off their roster changes and come out stronger. As Massacre captain Ginger Kid admits, while many people thought Charm "would struggle" after their roster changes, "they've proven everyone wrong, and we don't plan to underestimate them."
What's been the key to Charm's rebuilding? They "did retain a solid core of players," according to team captain I. M. Pain, along with a bunch of new additions, but the work the team has done over the past six months has really helped them actually become much more of a team, and "not just a collection of skaters."
Boston are 4-1 for the year, and Kid says the team is "very happy" with the results this year given their ongoing injury problems as well as the roster turnover. They've won four on the spin since a season-opening loss to Naptown, but two of those losses do show up some of Boston's issues. Last September they beat Dutchland by 123 points; this year Dutchland came within 19 points of the Massacre, despite having lost team USA star V-Diva to Philadelphia. Maine also came closer to Boston than they did at the tail end of last year despite looking likely to slip out of the Eastern top ten themselves thanks to the resurgence of DC. Carolina also came within 9 points of an upset in their bout in May.
Does this mean we'll see a similar bout to Charm's recent regionals victory this time around? "Mentally, we're in a much better place this time around," Kid says. "Mentally and physically, we think this is the strongest team we've ever had, and we only expect to get better as the year goes on." Charm are expecting a tough fight too, despite things seemingly being in their favour. "A team that really wants to win, and is hungry, is always something to look out for. So, we're planning to go out there and work hard, and hopefully come home victorious, but mostly we're hoping for really good derby that can we all learn something from," Pain said.
T2 Allie B. Back // 2AA Battery Operated // 2 O'Chit // 8 Free Radical // 12 ThouroughBled // 34 Lady Quebeaum // 45 Quickshot Kitty // 63 Holden Grudges // 100 Rosie the Rioter // 101 Crowella De Vil // 110 Uvetta Work // 415 Holly Gohardly // 777 Trixy von Doom // 1618 I.M. Pain // 1968 Colleen Oscopy
1 Dee Stortion // LVL9 Robot Unicorn Attack // 43 Ginger Kid // 55 Bad Person // 71 Maude Forbid // 101 Anna Wrecksya // 103F Hayley Contagious // 357 Vixen Ta Hitcha // 451 Lil Paine // 666 Dottie Danger // 859 Salome Splatter // 1081 Dixie Kicks // 1111 Maya Mangleyou // 1987 Shark Week // 1978 Space Invader
