Empire Skate Showdown Recap Part 2

Read Part 1 about our games at Empire Skate Showdown here: http://hellionsoftroy.blogspot.com/2011/09/empire-skate-showdown-recap-part-1.html

Reading our pre-bout team poem, "There Are My Skates"
Photo by Sean Hale/Hale Yeah

After winning our first two games, we secured a spot in the quarter finals, where we faced Central New York Roller Derby, who had also won their first two games.

The Hellions have worked closely with CNYRD in the past two years, making it a meaningful bout for both leagues. CNYRD opened the bout strong by scoring over 25 in the initial minutes of the game, which we were not able to make up for over the remainder of bout. The game ended with a final score of 86 - 32 and hugs shared between both teams. 

Taking advantage of a power jam.
Photo by Sean Hale/Hale Yeah

Baby Nuclear sneaking by Slay West
Photo by Hazmatt

Our first loss of the tournament sent the us down to the lower bracket, where they would face the Wall Street Traitors (New York, NY), who had faced one loss earlier in the tournament, to the Ithaca League of Women Rollers (Ithaca, NY).

The Traitors, who ended on top at last year's tournament, are part of New York's premier roller derby league, the Gotham Girls, who are currently ranked number one in the Eastern region of the Women's Flat Track Roller Derby Association (WFTDA).

Hellions vs. Traitors was the fifteenth game of the day, the fourth for the both teams, taking place eight hours after the first game of the tournament. It was apparent that both leagues were fatigued, but the Hellions opened strong to keep pace with their opponents in the initial minutes of the game. Never giving up, the Hellions continued to push themselves harder than ever, but were unable to keep up with the might of the Wall Street Traitors.

Solid hit from a Wall Street Traitors player.  I want to learn to hit like that!
Photo by Luna Obscura

Hellions manage to trap the WST jammer.  For a few seconds anyway.
Photo by Hazmatt

The final score of the game was 23 Hellions to 115 Traitors, but this loss placed the Hellions in third place of the tournament overall. The Traitors went on to face Central New York in the final match up of the day, where they ultimately secured the win. Central New York placed second in the tournament overall.

After placing last in the 2010 tournament, the we are extremely proud to have earned a space at the top this year. So far in 2011, the Hellions have a record of 8 wins and 4 losses to various teams in the eastern United States. We attribute our success this year to quality recruiting efforts, the hard work of our coaching staff, and the dedication of our players.