WFTDA Weekend Preview: Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver all in action

CN Power (17 NC)         vs.         Roc Stars (17 E)

 Coming off a big 151-138 season opening win over Fort Wayne (14 NC), Toronto Roller Derby’s CN Power makes its home debut, hosting Roc City’s Roc Stars (Rochester, New York) on Saturday.  It’s an intriguing cross-region WFTDA matchup featuring the 17^th ranked team in each region.

While both teams are playing in their first full seasons in the WFTDA and have already made big impressions, they’ve each gotten off to very different starts to 2012. CN Power scored a hard-fought upset over Fort Wayne to build some confidence moving forward, while Roc City has already faced struggles against Canadian opposition. In a non-sanctioned bout against WFTDA Apprentice Rideau Valley Vixens in January, they fell 128-99. Then just two weeks ago, they kicked off their 2012 WFTDA season by hosting Kitchener’s Tri-City Thunder in a back-and-forth game that was not decided until the final 10 minutes, when Thunder rode a few power jams to a 124-92 victory.

** The CN Power vs. Roc City  bout will kick off a double header at the Bunker in Downsview Park (also featuring the Death Track Dolls vs. the Smoke City Betties in ToRD regular season play). Doors open a 5:00PM. Tickets available online and at select locations.

**Check ToRD TV and Canuck Derby TV for boutcast updates.

New Skids on the Block (6E, 18 DNN)     vs.     Minnesota  All Stars (2NC, 12 DNN)

In the marquee WFTDA matchup  of the weekend, Montreal’s New Skids on the Block (ranked 6^th in the East) head to Minnesota to take on the Minnesota RollerGirls All Stars (2^nd in the North Central) in what promises to be a phenomenal bout.

While Montreal certainly aren’t new enough to catch anyone off guard anymore, in Minnesota they will face one of the original WFTDA leagues with a history as long as any in this sport.  Both teams are coming off of banner competitive years, and busy ones at that. Montreal played a remarkable 22 bouts in 2011 scoring big wins over Rat City, Boston, Texas and Huston to name a few. Unfortunately they ran out of steam at the Eastern Regionals, losing in a thrilling fifth place bout against London that was voted the Bout of the Year by DNN fans. Minnesota peaked at the right time and made it all the way to the WFTDA Championships where they knocked off Charm City in the first round before falling to Texas in the quarterfinals

Catch the game live on the Derby News Network (7:30 PM CST; 8:30 PM EST)

TERMINAL CITY READY FOR A WILD WEST SHOWDOWN

Vancouver’s Terminal City All Stars have exploded out of the gates in 2012, their first complete season in the WFTDA. Ranked 23^rd in the highly competitive Western Region, the All Stars have already gained some valuable tournament experience this season, turning some heads with an impressive 3-0 showing at The Big O in Eugene, Oregon that included a definitive victory over 18^th ranked Pikes Peak 194-94. They’ll be returning to tournament play already at this weekend’s Wild West Showdown.

The Slaughter County (Kitsap County, Washington) hosted tournament is a slight step up in the  competitive pecking order over The Big O, so Vancouver will face much stiffer competition. But after such a dominant performance over the lower ranked teams in the Region, it is a much deserved challenge: a similar showing at this tournament could go a long way in raising their WFTDA ranking.

On Saturday night, Terminal City will face off against 12^th ranked Emerald City (Eugene); on Sunday, they’ll meet 8^th ranked Jet City (who stumbled at The Big O being upset by Silicon Valley before scraping by 17^th ranked Wasatch by 5 points), and 15^th ranked Santa Cruz. All the teams should provide a stiff challenge to Vancouver who will gain a lot from the experience, win or lose.

The other WFTDA teams taking part (rankings in parentheses): Slaughter County Roller Vixens (11^th), Bellingham Roller Betties (16^th), Sin City Rollergirls (19^th), Dockyard Derby Dames (21^st), FoCo Girls Gone Derby (26^th), and Humboldt  Roller Derby(-). (WFTDA Apprentice league Paradise Roller Girls from Hawaii will also take part.)

OTHER ACTION

The North Central Region is a busy weekend this weekend with three other bouts, all with potential impact on the rankings.

Mad Rollin’ Dolls (10^th) vs. Arch Rival (6^th, 23 DNN)

Ohio Roller Girls (9^th) vs. Bleeding Heartland Rollergirls (13^th)

NEO Roller Derby (23^rd) vs. Killamazoo Derby Darlins (20^th)