Golden Boot is up for grabs — Killjoys meet Dam City Rollers
By The Nelson Daily Sports
The Golden Boot is up for grabs.
And the Nelson Killjoys want it — again.
The defending West Kootenay Roller Derby champs are back in the final, this time against Castlegar’s Dam City Rollers as the league culminates a season with the Mountain Mayhem 5 Saturday at the NDCC Arena.
The Final goes at 7 p.m. with the consolation contest starting at 5 p.m. between Valley Brutality against the Rossland Trail Rollergirls.
The Killjoys and Dam City Rollers, the top-ranked West Kootenay teams, fought mercilessly less than a month ago with the Dams taking home their first win against the Nelson team in three years.
It was a hard fought battle that started with many lead changes, but the Dams’ devastating walls broadened the gap and the Killjoys were unable to close it in time.
The Dams’ momentum is at an all-time high coming out of an undefeated home season – a sentiment that the Killjoys know only too well, having done the same in 2013.
The Dam City Rollers are known region-wide for their big hits and even more for their proclamations of confidence, so the Killjoys will have to live up to their name if they’re to slow the steamroller down.
Luckily for the hometown audience, Kerowhack and Meg Ablast continue to live up to their names, giving as good as they get from the first whistle to the last. The Dams have developed their triple-threats this season with skaters like Missy Helliot and Pantsoff, formerly dedicated blockers, taking turns as pivots and jammers.
A deep bench is a strong one – and while the challenging Dams have a lot to boast about, Nelson’s Killjoys have been practicing hard and are sure to give their hometown crowd something to cheer about for the rest of 2014.
At 5 p.m., the third-place game pitting the Valley Brutality against the Rossland Trail Rollergirls.
Both teams have shown marked improvement throughout the season and this game is sure to be a fierce one. RTRG’s jammers Smashy Smurf (a tiny but mighty skater who is increasingly hard to take off her feet) and Roll N Loki (one of the team’s seasoned pros), and their hard-hitting blockers, took on the Dams this month at the semi-finals, and they know how to deliver a hit or two.
Meanwhile, the Valley Brutality have welcomed back track-aware pivot Pell Mell, in addition to solidifying their ever-stronger bond from 2 teams into a mighty 1.
Will Penetrator be able to get around DeTail Her? Valley Brutality’s blockers are as ruthless as RTRG’s jammers are fearless, and the improvement in both these teams’ games over the season has been staggering to watch – and may well leave a skater or two staggering before the game is over.
This fight for end-of-season rankings is sure to be a tough one.
