The Naughty List: Rockits Around the Garda Tree

Jan 2, 2016 | Bout News

The Naughty List: Rockits Around the Garda Tree

The Rockits won their second game in a row in this 12th Minnesota RollerGirls Home Season with a convincing victory over the Garda Belts 147-92. The Rockits relied on what has become a steady jamming rotation of Obscene Sheen, Dreidel Robber, and Rhea Volt, each running up multiple big scoring jams to push the Rockits forward.

First Half

The Garda Belts came hard out of the gate in the first jam, with jammer Second Hand Smoke exploding off the line to earn lead jammer status near-instantly. The Rockits’ Dreidel Robber was not far behind, however, and managed to sneak in two points as Smoke called off the jam while she was falling to the ground. Rhea Volt followed up to continue the Rockits’ strong start with a 13-point power jam to put the Rockits up 15-2 in the opening minutes.

The Rockits expanded that lead with a strong jam each from Dreidel, Volt, and Obscene Sheen. The Rockits’ blockers also took little time getting in a rhythm, with lines led by Scarmen Hellectra and MadRad shutting down green jammers in triangle formation from the opening whistle. With 9 minutes remaining in the first half, the Rockits built up a 34-16 lead.

The Gardas cut that lead down in the following jams, first with a solid performance from Beach Slap, who came out of the penalty box to earn lead jammer and 5 points behind some heads-up offense from Crust Almighty getting in the way of Ana Stick’s draw-back to give Slap a path. Ida Sockher followed up with a quick little hop around MadRad for lead and 3 points before calling off the jam. Second Hand Smoke earned lead jammer and another quick 3 on the next jam, then Crust Almighty earned 5 while mugging for the crowd, narrowing the Rockits lead to 37-32 with 5 minutes left in the half.

Unfortunately for the Garda Belts, that was as close as they’d come to a lead over the Rockits for the rest of the night. Obscene Sheen broke out next for an 8-point jam, then Dreidel Robber followed up with 9 more. A few jams later and the first half had ended with a more comfortable 70-44 margin for the Rockits.

Second Half

The Rockits kept their lock-step 3 jammer rotation going through the second half, and each of Obscene Sheen, Rhea Volt, and Dreidel Robber managed a few multiple-pass jams in the second half to expand the Rockits margin of victory. On the blocking side, Scarmen Hellectra and MadRad were absolutely dominant in the last-line-of-defense role, often holding the opposing jammer just long enough for their teammates to catch up and re-form a wall in front of the Gardas jammer.

Building walls primarily in a 3-person triangle formation, the Rockits also rotated newer skaters into the “point” position in charge of catching that jammer. Manilla Ice got some excellent hit-out maneuvers in, and Rockits Rookie Hater Tot got Crust Almighty struck in her tracks to buy more time for Obscene Sheen to score.

To the Gardas credit, we saw some solid jams from Ida Sockher and great play on both sides of the game from Crust Almighty. Brutal Brit, joining the Garda Belts from the Northside Rollers of Melbourne, Australia, also looked good in her first MNRG game, integrating herself well into the Gardas walls and looking very solid when holding back Rhea Volt from scoring.

The Rockits slowly but steadily expanded on their lead in the second half, capping off the game with a 14-point jam from Dreidel Robber to win the game 147-92.

Bout Highlights

First Half, Jam 2 – The Rockits have been using ths duo together more and more this season, and here again the combination of Scarmen Hellectra’s hitting power plus MeshugEnough’s agility prove deadly for the opposing jammer. Scar lands a huge hit on Ida Sockher, then MeshugEnough dashes back to make Ida come in behind her.

First Half, Jam 4 – A messy jam, but a great show of two talented jammers with contrasting styles. The Rockits’ Dreidel Robber loves to get around with quick flip-arounds and little hops around the corner, while the Gardas’ Beach Slap is more effective by dropping a shoulder and going right for a blocker’s midsection. Both manage to rack up a bunch of points and a bunch of penalties in this jam.

First Half, Jam 5 – It’s not often that you see a Garda Belts jammer and a Rockits jammer cooperating on the track, but when Rhea Volt and Beach Slap end up knocked to the infield with their skates entangled, we see an awkward dance from both of them to gently help each other back up.

Second Half, Jam 4 – Scootaloo flips backwards to get around MadRad, pushing off of MadRad with her shoulders to keep herself upright, torso nearly horizontal but still on her feet. Finishes the scoring pass then calls off the jam.