May 16, 2007

'Back in Black and Blue' In Review
Hanz Schmegal - GCRG Writer

On Saturday May 12th at 1p.m., the Gem City Rollergirls kicked off their 2007 home season with a bang against the Rogue Rollergirls of Fayetteville, North Carolina at the Ervin J. Nutter Center in a bout entitled "Back in Black and Blue". The GCRG were gracious enough to give up the original start time of 7:30p.m. to the Dayton Bombers(ECHL hockey league) who had made it to the playoffs, proving that girls are made from sugar and spice and everything nice.

As the start whistle blew to signal the beginning of the first period, it wasn't clear whether or not the Rogue Rollergirls would be a threat. Gem City's Polly Rocket(63) and Rogue's Bull Lee faced off in the first jam and Bull(a former GCRG) achieved Lead jammer status with some effort. Despite this fact, Bull only scored 2 points to Polly's 4. Toma Hawk(2) faced off in the next jam against Feelin' Froggy for a full 2 minutes both scoring 8 points. Things started looking sour for Rogue in the third jam when Hannah Barbaric(85) scored consecutive grand slams(10 pts) on Loca Mafiosa. The hardest fought jam came when Killian Destroy(4) faced Bull Lee for nearly a full 2 minute jam and was out scored 3-2. Ruff'n the Passer(21) also scored 2 Grand Slams in jam 9 and Polly Rocket scored one grand slam in jam 11. Out of 11 jams in Period 1 Gem City outscored Rogue 59-20 and got lead jammer status 8 of 10 times that there was a lead jammer.

After a brief interlude, Head Referee Harry Brawls signaled the start of the second period with a spirited whistle blast. Toma Hawk punctuated this tenacity with a grand slam on Rogue's giantess Tamazon. Hannah Barbaric outscored Bull Lee in jam two 4-2. Olga the Red(3) made her debut as jammer by getting lead and an astounding 8 points against Suthern Hail's 2 points. Killian Destroy continued to set the pattern by attaining lead jammer and 4 points, followed by Ruff'n the Passer with 7 points in jam 5 and Polly Rocket with 6 points in jam 6. Hannah Barbaric and Bull Lee had a hard fought scoreless jam following this rally, but this would not last. The last 4 jams of the period gave GCRG lead jammer 3 out of 4 times and 18 points(Ruff'n-7(full jam), Olga-4, Polly-3, Toma-4). Out of 11 jams in Period 2 Gem City outscored Rogue 52-10(111-30) and got lead jammer 7 of 9 times that there was a lead jammer.

Following a bit of technical difficulty with the scoreboard, Gem City really began to show their tenacity and strategical skill in the third period when Hannah Barbaric, Poison Pixie(999), and Killian Destroy shut out Rogue 5-0 in the first three jams. Bull Lee was able to achieve lead jammer in jam 4 while Killian Destroy waited patiently in the penalty box and wisely called off the jam just as Killian was coming back into play, scoring 2 points. Polly Rocket answered this bit of smart play with a grand slam in the next jam and an additional point outscoring Suthern Hail 6-4. Rogue attempted to rally in the jam 6 when Feelin' Froggy got 10 points against Cherry Tart's(50/50) debut with 8. After a scoreless jam 7, Olga the Red scored 8 points on Feelin' Froggy's 4 and Poisonous Butterfly(.08BAC) made her debut against Tamazon, getting lead jammer, and tying(sp) her with 2 points. The final jam of the bout was Toma Hawk and Rogue's Evergrace. Toma got lead jammer almost right away and outscored Evergrace 9-4. Out of 10 jams in Period 3 Gem City outscored Rogue 38-26(149-56) and got lead jammer 5 of 8 times that there was a lead jammer.

Lead Scorers of the bout were Polly Rocket for Gem City with 32 points on 7 jams, and Feelin Froggy for Rogue with 22 points on 8 jams. Olga the Red(GCRG) got lead jammer 3 out of 3 times for a 100% Lead Jammer percentage. Ruff'n the Passer(GCRG) scored an average of 7 points per jam(28 points in 4 jams) while Cherry Tart(GCRG) scored 8 points on her only jam giving her the most average points per jam. Gem City got lead jammer status 62.5% of the time(20 out of 32 jams). Rogue got lead jammer status 22% of the time (7 out 32 times). There were only 5 jams without a lead jammer.