2017 D1 Playoffs Malmö Game 9: Helsinki vs Calgary

Helsinki Roller Derby (#5) vs Calgary Roller Derby Association (#11)

After taking a narrow loss to the Crime City Rollers on Friday night, Helsinki Roller Derby of Helsinki, Finland (#5, WFTDA #15), was able to add another win to their Playoff weekend when they defeated Calgary Roller Derby Association of Calgary, Alberta, Canada (#11, WFTDA #35) 365–107 on Saturday afternoon for game 9 of the 2017 International WFTDA Division 1 Playoffs Malmö. It was the first time these teams had ever met on the track.

Calgary started with the first few lead jammer statuses of the game, but quick work by Helsinki’s jammers and helpful offense from their blockers prevented Calgary from being able to run up the score on those opportunities, going into jam 3 with a 3–1 lead. During that jam, Calgary’s N-GAUGE was sent to the box on a forearm penalty, providing Malou with the chance to capitalize on a power jam and shoot Helsinki’s score up to 25 to Calgary’s three.

Jammer penalties would prove to be a challenge for Calgary this game — four jammers were sent to the box in the first 12 minutes of the game, giving Helsinki’s blockers the opportunity to focus solely on quick, effective offense for jammers like Maiju Rinne, who outscored Calgary 18–0 halfway through the first period to bring the score to 94–21 in Helsinki’s favor.

Calgary had a few opportunities for power jams as well throughout the game, including two penalties assessed to Helsinki jammer Taru Saxelin after successful official reviews were called by Calgary’s bench. However, strong Helsinki walls featuring skaters like Retku, Salla Karjalainen, Joanna Koskinen, and Iiris Suominen stopped many high-scoring jams from landing in Calgary’s favor. Early in the second period, Taru Saxelin went to the box on a forearm penalty but still managed to outscore Calgary on the jam 22–9.

Back-to-back penalties by Calgary’s N-GAUGE coupled with great toe stop work on the lines by Helsinki jammer Malou and a quick lead status for Helsinki jammer MIA, allowed Helsinki to widen their commanding lead to 225–67 before the fourth jam of the half. Malou was the highest scorer of the game with 92 points, followed by Maiju Rinne with 80. Calgary’s highest point-scorer was Easy Break Oven with 42, who had several double-digit scoring jams assisted by cohesive clears by the Calgary offense.

This was the last game of the weekend for both teams. The first-place game for the tournament will take place on Sunday at 6 p.m. Central European Time between the winners of games 11 and 12.

FINAL SCORE

Helsinki Roller Derby (Seed #5, WFTDA #15) 365
Calgary Roller Derby Association (Seed #11, WFTDA #35) 107

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