2017 D1 Playoffs Malmö Game 5: Stockholm vs. Terminal City

Stockholm Roller Derby (#7) vs. Terminal City Rollergirls (#10)

The penultimate game of the 2017 International WFTDA Division 1 Playoffs Malmö was an international matchup between Stockholm Roller Derby of Stockholm, Sweden (#7, WFTDA #20) and the Terminal City Rollergirls of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada (#10, WFTDA #32). The game was a rematch of their encounter at the 2016 WFTDA D1 Playoffs Vancouver, which Stockholm lost by 55 points to the host team, Terminal City. This time around the tables turned, with Stockholm taking a 52-point win over the Vancouver team in their home country, ending the game 197–145.

It was a slow start for Stockholm as Terminal City’s Maiden Sane put the first eight points on the board in the first jam, assisted by the Canadian’s aggressive offense, but five minutes into the game the Swedish team took the lead and then ran with it. Stockholm capitalized on a lack of cohesion from Terminal City in the first half of the game, bolstered by a phenomenal performance from Lil Slinky, who delighted the crowd with her pirouettes, apex jumps, and dips. Stockholm seemed somewhat distracted after their captain, CaRollin’ Thunder, left the track after an injury in the last jam of the period. She did not return to play. The score was 110–65 for Stockholm at the end of the first period.

Terminal City returned from halftime with renewed energy, making Stockholm work harder to hold on to their lead. Halfway through the second period, the Canadian team was within 38 points of Stockholm, 142–104.

The last minutes of the period were the most intense of the game. With five minutes left on the clock, Terminal City locked down their defense as both teams engaged in a one-minute struggle before Stockholm’s Panica De Hex achieved lead status. The teams scored two points each in that jam as well as the next, as the Canadian team seemed to come to life, speeding up the game in the last few jams and earning lead jammer status for several consecutive jams. In one of them, Stockholm’s jammer Maurine Filip hit Terminal City’s Maiden Sane out of bounds after the jam start whistle, drawing her far back before Maiden Sane could re-enter the track and speed past Maurine to snatch lead, ending the jam with seven points to Stockholm’s four.

While Terminal City’s last few hard-hitting jams succeeded in bridging the point differential, Stockholm Roller Derby took the game 197–145.

This was Stockholm’s first Playoffs game on Swedish soil. “We’re really excited to have Playoffs in our home country”, said Stockholm blocker and ex-Gotham Girls Roller Derby skater Swede Hurt. “It’s such an honor and so much fun. Everyone who worked to make this happen has done an amazing job, and I feel like we are really putting Scandinavian derby on the map.” As for their next game, “You’ll just have to wait and see. We will try to stay together, be a strong team, and show them how awesome Swedish roller derby is!”

Stockholm Roller Derby will go on to play Denver Roller Derby on Saturday at noon, Central European Summer Time (CEST). Terminal City will also play again on Saturday, against Detroit Roller Derby at 4 p.m. CEST.

FINAL SCORE

Stockholm Roller Derby (Seed #7, WFTDA #20) 197
Terminal City Rollergirls (Seed #10, WFTDA #32) 145

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