ToRD Closes Out Home Season with Double Header Against Royal City

ToRD hosts Royal City in a double header. Doors at The Bunker open at 5:00 PM.

When ToRD’s Bay Street Bruisers and Royal City’s Brute Leggers met in Guelph’s Sleeman Centre this past June, the newly formed B-Team from Toronto was playing its second competitive game since being reborn as a travel team (the home team version of the Bruisers disbanded in 2009). Meanwhile, the Brute Leggers, another relatively newly formed travel team, were already well into a busy breakout season, holding a 3-2 record coming off of a hard-fought eight-point victory over Kingston’s Disloyalists.

The Bruisers would burst out to a substantial early lead in the June showdown, and would hold off a significant Brute Leggers second-half pushback for a 176-153 victory. That Bruisers’ win was the first of four in a row, which included a Roller Derby Association of Canada (RDAC) Eastern Canadian championship. The Brute Leggers have continued their busy season and now stand at 5-7 on year, but currently find themselves on a three-game losing streak that includes losses to Tri-City hometeam (and Beast of the East champs) the Vicious Dishes, the Renegade Derby Dames Misfit Militia, and GTA’s G-sTARs.

ToRD’s other farm team, the D-VAS, played for much bigger stakes the last time they met Royal City’s farm team, The Top Herloins. In the semi-finals of this year’s Fresh and Furious tournament, the D-VAS took an early lead only to have the Herloins pull ahead and hold off a late D-VAS surge for a miniscule two-point victory.

The Bruisers held off the Brute Leggers for a 20 point win at a June showdown in Guelph. (Photo by Neil Gunner)

Both teams, however, are composed of young, mostly inexperienced skaters who have been going through a season of massive growth. It has to be assumed that much has changed between both of these teams since that July showdown four months ago. The D-VAS recently exhibited that growth with an impressive victory over The Disloyalists, avenging an early season 259 point loss. They defeated the Kingston team by a similar margin as the Brute Leggers did, which implies that this D-VAS team has developed significantly this season.

But just because the Bruisers and Brute Leggers represent teams higher up each league’s competitive ladder doesn’t mean that there hasn’t been change in the teams. The Bruisers present a much different roster from the one that squared off against Royal City in the summer. Overall, there are nine new skaters on the team, and five on the game-day roster who weren’t on the team in June. The Brute Leggers, who contain skaters that also play on the Top Herloins, have gone through an immense change, and since they started playing publicly in May of last year, have played a remarkable 23 games, picking up a lot of valuable track experience along the way.

The Top Herloins defeated the D-VAS by two points at the Fresh and Furious: GTA Drift. (Photo by Neil Gunner)

On top of the potential competitive nature of the bout, this D-VAS team will be playing its last game together before ToRD’s house league entry draft next month. Due to CN Power’s recent commitment to having its skaters commit fully to only the travel team roster, there are a lot of spaces open on ToRD’s four home teams; virtually all of the current roster of D-VAS will be drafted into the league for the 2013 season. The core of this team has been skating together for nearly two years now, and will soon find themselves distributed over four teams.  As for the D-VAS: word on the track is that there is a very talented crop of fresh meat ready to fill the spaces that will be opened on the farm team.

For the Brute Leggers, this will mark the conclusion of a busy, ground-breaking season that saw them pick up third place in RDAC’s Eastern Canadian Championship (which they also hosted!), but even more importantly play a lot of games. They played a range of talent level and didn’t back down from any challenges and have set the stage for a big 2013 season.

The Bruisers now represent the all-star skaters of ToRD’s houseleague, and with a handful of games already scheduled for south of the border, are looking to finish 2012 strong with the roster that will represent the team for the bulk of 2013. After this weekend, the Bruisers will hit the road with their big sisters CN Power and head to Grand Rapids to take on the G-Rap Attack in a double header featuring CN Power’s WFTDA sanctioned showdown with Grand Raggidy. A win on Saturday would go a long way in building confidence for the trip.

***The games will be played at The Bunker in Downsview Park.  Doors open at 5:00 PM, with the opening whistle of the D-VAS vs. Top Herloins game set for 6:00 PM. The Bay Street Bruisers vs. Brute Leggers bout will start at 8:00 PM.  Tickets are available online or at a handful of locations downtown.

***  The Caplansky’s food truck will be returning for the game, so come for dinner!

Disloyalists Dismantle D-VAS, Continue Ontario Dominance

The 2012 D-VAS hosted Kingston’s Disloyalists in their first (non intrasquad) bout of the year. (Photo by Greg Russell).

The Disloyalists (KDG) 314 vs. The D-VAS (ToRD) 55

Kingston Derby Girls’ Disloyalists have come a long way in the past year. Previously, they were just another of the many leagues popping up in the burgeoning Ontario derby scene; at last year’s 2 Fresh 2 Furious they had their moments (one of their unnamed teams lost to the D-VAS in the quarterfinals), but still looked very much like a league finding itself. They played some tight games against some of the other newer leagues in the sport, but didn’t do much to distance themselves from the likes of Durham Region Roller Derby or the Royal City Rollergirls. But as physical a sport as roller derby is, there comes a point when the difference between two teams will be defined by their knowledge of the game, by that elusive but all important “track sense”: once you get it, the game changes and the improvements become exponential. In 2012, the Disloyalists have certainly gotten it.

Coming off of two one-sided victories over previous rivals in Durham and South Simcoe in the past two weeks, the Disloyalists rolled into Toronto in the midst of their first significant winning streak and continued those winning ways with a thoroughly dominant performance over ToRD’s D-VAS. Of course, this D-VAS team is not the same D-VAS team Kingston last encountered, and the inexperience was evident as they played their first game against outside competition in 2012. Kingston got going early, led by 100 at the half and pulled away at the end of the 259-point victory.

Kingston’s LaVallee of the Dolls anchors an athletic and tough Disloyalists jammer rotation. (Photo by Neil Gunner)

Things got rolling quickly for the Disloyalists with Lavallee of the Dolls picking up 6 on the first jam. Sticking with a tight jammer rotation in the early going to Lavallee, Luci Fleur and Johnston (with Yo! Shanity Slam and the triple threat Manic Breeze sneaking into the rotation as well), the Disloyalists rushed out to a lead but couldn’t quite distance themselves from the D-VAS. The Toronto team went with a much wider jammer rotation giving at least six skaters a shot with the star. Lexi Con got the D-VAS on the board first and Joss Wheelin (who wore both helmet covers with confidence on the night) picked up an early 2 points as well, but the D-VAS couldn’t do much to penetrate the tough pack defense from Kingston and found themselves down 29-5 ten minutes in.

Mazel Tough had a strong positional game for the D-VAS and was solid one on one. (Photo by Greg Russell)

With Meanstreak on the track jamming, Kingston’s Luci Fleur was sent to the box on a major track cut giving the D-VAS a chance to make up some ground early, but in a jam indicative of the way things would go for the D-VAS, they negated the power jam with a penalty of their own, and further penalties from pack players led to a formidable Kingston pack advantage as well and the subsequent 19-point jam from Luci Fleur blew the game wide open and gave Kingston momentum. While strategic miscues were reflective of the lack of experience, the D-VAS had great individual moments throughout, and the smooth skating Tomy Knockers (playing her first ever game in Toronto Roller Derby) scored some nice late-half jammer take outs, while Mazel Tough had her best game with the D-VAS showing a strong positional awareness and performing very well one on one. But the fast strategic transitions of the Disloyalists had the D-VAS constantly a step behind, and they stared at a big 131-29 deficit at the half.

Recent transfer Tomy Knockers (laying down a strong offensive block) had a solid game for the D-VAS. (Photo by Neil Gunner)

The D-VAS came flying out to start the second half, and a massive 20-point pick up by Wackedher on a power jam pivoted by Joss Wheelin (and aided by some nice recycling from the D-VAS pack led by Tomy Knockers) had them clawing their way back into it. But the pushback wouldn’t last. Two strong Kingston pivots Little Orphan-Maker Annie and Banger Management worked together on a jam to neutralize D-VAS jammer Machete Maiden, and a couple of natural grand slams restored the Disloyalists’ lead to 155-49 five minutes into the half. Again the D-VAS had their moments: both Babushkill and Mean Streak continue to be solid performers and Joss Wheelin and Lexi Con are beginning to exhibit diverse talents on the track transitioning from blocker to jamming very smoothly, and the improvements were evident as the game wore on and they began to respond to situations more efficiently and accurately (like a well executed Viktory Lapp power jam pivoted by Joss at the midway point on the half); they also kept their spirits up and made sure to celebrate small victories (like an Armageddon Rose  jammer take out on Vagina Dentata late in the game). But the Disloyalists never looked like they were out of control at any point. Widening their jammer rotation late didn’t change things either, and the depth of the pack made sure that the D-VAS could never truly mount a significant comeback. Luci Fleur closed things out for the Disloyalists, scoring 17 points on the final jam of the bout to push her team over 300 points, cruising to the 314-55 victory.

In the end, the depth and experience of the Disloyalists overwhelmed the D-VAS. (Photo by Greg Russell)

For the Disloyalists, this is just another victory in what will undoubtedly continue to be a break out year for them (and they’ve certainly earned themselves a shot at a more experienced ToRD team like the newly resurrected Bay Street Bruisers, for example). For the D-VAS this game provided perfect, much-needed experience against a strategically sound team that is on the rise and is the first step in a year-long process that will prepare them for ToRD’s 2012 entry draft (held in the fall); all of these little experiences (no matter how challenging) will pay off immeasurably in terms of experience gained and knowledge acquired.

**Next up for the D-VAS is a showdown in Brantford against the Belles of the Brawl on May 26^th, while the Disloyalists have a little break in their busy schedule before taking on the Royal City Rollergirls next month in Guelph.

Kingston Derby Girls Sweep Double Header in Durham

   vs.     

Kingston’s Skateful Dead (hometeam) and The Disloyalists (travel team) skated into Durham Region last night for a double header showdown with teams representing both ends of the DRRD spectrum. With a roster sprinkled with members of the second KDG hometeam, the Rogue Warriors, it took a while for the Skateful Dead to come together, but when they did, they were able to handle the less experienced Durham farm team, the DRRD’Y Farmers. In the marquee matchup of the evening, a shorthanded Disloyalists marched onto the visitor’s bench and dominated the second half of their bout with the Derby Devils to distance themselves from their rivals and complete the double-header sweep.

The Disloyalists (blue) and the Derby Devils wait for the opening whistle. (Photography by Joe Mac)

The Disloyalists (KDG) 193 vs. Durham Derby Devils (DRRD) 86

Two teams to keep an eye on in the competitive derby scene in Ontario are the Derby Devils and the Disloyalists, but on Saturday it was the KDG skaters who stole the spotlight and turned some heads. When these two teams met in August of last year in Kingston, it was a defensive stalemate with the host team just able to eke out a 73-71 victory. It was a much more fast-paced and high-scoring bout this time around. In the early going it seemed like it was going to be another tight one. Durham jumped out to an early lead, only to have Kingston come back and snap it back, a trend for the first half of the period. Kingston’s Little Orphan-Maker Annie immediately made her presence known on the track, with an astute eye for the little things in the tight, fast moving packs, while on the Durham side Sensei Slam continued her comeback from a long injury layoff with a strong bout pivoting and blocking for the Devils. Karma Screwya and Amefyst are also emerging as smart, capable on-track leaders in Durham, anchoring a pack full of potential that includes Mozilla and Hitz Miller among others. The only difference in the early going was penalties that kept Durham shorthanded for much of the half (and the game) and allowed the Disloyalists to take control.  A late first-half pushback from the hosts kept them in it, but they were down 21, 60-39 at the half.

The Devils' Karma Screwya (pivot) and Hitz Miller (#244) attempt to hold Disloyalists' jammer Lavallee of the Dolls.

The Disloyalists put this one away early in the second half, holding the Durham Derby Devils to just two points during the opening third of the half while their pack—in particular on power jams—took over, dictating the conditions of the game (IE: pace and formation of the packs). The Devils maintained a tight jammer rotation of Cutsie Bootsie, Darth Kater, Legzy Maegzy and 12 Gage, all of whom had various moments of success and struggle throughout the bout, but they all kept fighting despite whatever challenges faced them (12 Gage had a particularly trying jam late in the second half that didn’t seem to sap one ounce of her spirit and she was right back up and ready for her next spot in the rotation). With only 11 skaters (down to 10 after a first half injury to Sassberry Tart), the Disloyalists were a little more liberal with their jammer rotation, but the core of the rotation was Lavallee of the Dolls, Luci Fleur, Juke of Hazards and Magpie, skaters who also spent considerable amount of time in the pack as well.

Disloyalists' triple threat Manic Breeze goes one on one with Devil's jammer 12 Gage.

By the end of the bout, it seemed as though the Disloyalists’ Manic Breeze had taken over this game. A talented, intelligent triple threat, Manic did a little bit of everything in this one and did it all well, showing a knowledge and awareness of that game that permeates this Kingston roster. And it was that track awareness that proved to be the difference, as Kingston took advantage of every minor mistake that Durham made. In particular, they took advantage of some loose pack destruction calls to cripple Durham on power jams and even drew them into chasing the passive outside-line they’d formed, allowing them to actually pull the pack backwards on occasion. In the end, the Disloyalists (who have a busy schedule coming up including a May 12^th showdown in Toronto with the D-VAS) were able to make quite a statement with the 107 point victory.

The DRRD'Y Farmers and the Skateful Dead kicked off the double header.

Skateful Dead (KDG) 115 vs. DRRD’Y FARMERS (DRRD) 67

In the opening bout of the double header, the crowd was treated to a showdown between the future stars of these two fast-growing leagues. Once again it was close in the early going, with both teams running into considerable penalty troubles that would not relent throughout. Durham stuck with a tight jammer rotation of Darmean, Young Blood, Motorbreath and Tatinator (who seemed to get stronger as the bout wore on and picked up a ton of track time in the second half), while Kingston mixed things up a bit (particularly as their lead increased in the second half) but anchored their offense around Zesty Enterprise, the excellent Skate at Home Mom, and the scrappy Smackinnon. But this Skateful Dead team is paced by a triple threat as well, as Yo! Shanity Slam (despite early penalty trouble) left her mark on this game at every position. Again though, the game was certainly in reach at half, with Kingston up 62-35 as the skaters headed to the dressing room.

Skateful Dead's Yo! Shanity Slam and the Farmers' Darmean face off on the jam line.

Fatigue seemed to be a factor in the second half as both offenses slowed down, but it allowed particular skaters to shine. Durham’s Jilly Do Not recovered from a first half that saw her travel to the box four times, to keep her head in the game in the second half and provide some forceful pack work. Rina Green also got into the game in the second half, and the scrappy blocker punished her Kingston counterparts with some big hits and timely waterfalling. But Kingston showed that they had a deep bench and got strong performances from all over their lineup. Polly Slamory can be an intimidating factor on the track, while Cat O’Clism and Booty on Duty delivered some timely hits, and late in the game Flaming Hips scored some big jammer take outs to discourage any sort of late Farmers come back. In the end both teams won by gaining valuable track time, undeniably important for the least experienced skaters of these two up and coming leagues.

***Both leagues are in action next weekend, with both of Durham’s hometeams heading to Guelph for a showdown with Royal City, while Kingston’s home opener goes next weekend with a house league showdown and the Disloyalists hosting South Simcoe.

***A big thanks to Durham Region Roller Derby for inviting me to join Ross Aussage as guest announcer and for being such excellent and gracious hosts!