by Michael Frighten’d
On March 20, the first day of Spring, the Steel City Derby Demons welcomed two skilled teams from the Great White North for their 2010 home opener at Romp ‘n’ Roll in Glenshaw, PA. Steel City’s B-Unit won a hard-fought bout with Rideau Valley, Ontario, 95-67, followed by a dominant performance by the Steel Hurtin’ over the Maine All-Stars, 182-58 to move to 2 and 0 on the young season.
The B-Unit bout featured the debuts of skaters Fannie Mayhem, Atomic Bombino, Crushin’ Dior, and Inna Gadda Da Beatcha for the reconfigured Steel City team who faced a well-matched team of Canadian skaters for a tight, low-scoring, back-and-forth battle. The Rideau Valley Vixens were led by performances by jamers Soul Rekker, D.D.T., and Sister Disaster who wrested control of the majority of the jams but could never quite gain enough distance on their Pittsburgh counterparts Miss Ill, Velvet Assassin, and Fannie Mayhem to rack up large scoring differentials. B-Unit also employed crowd-favorite McShovin, who used a terrific block by Madame Abagael to dexterously skate her way to the only double-digit jam of the first half. On defense, Pittsburgh’s Tower O Terror and Miss Ill made some notable blocks on D.D.T., with Miss Ill finding herself flying right after her victim from a crushing hit by Screaming Meanie Massacre as the first half closed at 51-33 Steel City.
The second half began with a great defensive jam by B-Unit’s Speeder Rottentail, Tower O Terror, Miss Ill, and Icepick as they kept Soul Rekker in check while McShovin tallied another 13 for the only double-digit score of the second half. The Vixens’ Semi Precious was a ubiquitious and constant force in the second half, teaming up with Assassinista for some great defense on McShovin and in providing a great whip for Sister Disaster as the Canadians kept a 28-point pace behind the B-Unit for the remainder of the half. At one point, reminiscent of Slapshot’s Hansons, three Ontarians sat in the penalty box but Miss Ill was unable to capitalize on the power play until freed by a colossal hit by Madame Abagael. Defense was the story to the end with the bout concluding 95-67 in B-Unit’s favor on a strong block by Tower O Terror.
Opposing coaching strategies for Steel City and Maine set the stage for a rousing high-speed second bout but this night’s superior execution by Steel Hurtin’s blockers and jammers told the story. Right from the outset, Maine attempted to control events with a choreographed full stop of their pack during the first jam, only to see Steel City’s jammer, Hurricane Heather blow right past the static blockers en route to a 22-0 full 2-minute scamper. More conventional defenses were not much more effective as Pittsburgh jammers ‘Snot Rocket Science, Hurricane Heather and the Shocker followed with three more big runs and Maine was staring at a 45-8 deficit after only 10 minutes. Despite often earning lead jammer, the Maine scorers were kept in check by the likes of J-Bomb, Bonecrusher and Athena until Grim D. Mise broke through for 10 points near the first quarter mark, which ended 56-20 in favor of Steel City.
Maine’s WrexZilla and Punchy O’Guts laid some big hits during the second quarter but dominating defense by La Diabla at the pivot, Damage Dahl in the middle, and particularly Steel Hurtin’ captain Athena at the back showed Maine, “You cahn’t get theah from heah,” as they ended the half with only 27 points to Pittsburgh’s 98. Another real wicked pissah for Maine’s Shirley B. Slammin’ and Olive Spankins was ‘Snot Rocket Science who used her jams to stick to and shut down her opposing numbers. Despite what must have been very frustrating for them, the Maine All-Star jammers showed a lot of heart, sportsmanship, and an unrelentingcompetitive drive.
Discipline seemed to slip for both teams as the second half unfolded with many loose, spread-out packs and penalties to both teams. Notable were the calls against jammers, leading to many times where there was only one star zipping around the track at a time. Speedy Mainers Olive Spankins, Killer Quick, and Grim D. Mise captured and controlled more jams than their hosts and stuck to a game plan, continually calling them off quite early, as soon as it appeared Steel City would score at all, but possibly costing themselves chances to close the gap which sat at 127-45 at the three-quarter mark.
Meanwhile another strategem from Steel City was realized as blockers Athena, Ally McKill, BB Basher, WhipSmart! and Dresta Kill teamed up to prevent opponents like petite Lois Blow from joining her pack-mates, creating a large gap in between and allowing Hurricane Heather and the Shocker to skate unimpeded for a couple of 20-point jams. Perhaps as tired of ‘Snot Rocket Science’s toying with their jammers as they are of Portland summer tourists, Punchy O’Guts and Fist City Kitty combined for a big hit on ‘Snot only to see the 8-wheeled acrobat spin in mid-air and land on her feet. It was that kind of night where everything went right for Steel Hurtin’ as hope Springs eternal for the 2010 season with an undefeated record.