2017 D2 Playoffs Game 26: Ohio vs. Bear City

Ohio Roller Derby (#8) vs. Bear City Roller Derby (#14)

Ohio Roller Derby of Columbus, Ohio, U.S. ( #8, WFTDA #48) faced off against Bear City Roller Derby of Berlin, Germany ( #14, WFTDA #55) for ninth place at the 2017 International WFTDA D2 Playoffs and Championships in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. Both teams were playing their fourth game of the tournament, and had suffered one loss but also some big successes. Berlin managed some sizeable point spreads, but Ohio refused to give in or give up; they kept their momentum and worked to keep things within a reachable distance of the Berlin Bombers. The defense from both teams was commendable, holding both jammers in the final jam of the game for the full two minutes. In the end, though, Ohio couldn’t muster the comeback required to overtake the skaters from Berlin and the Bombshells took the 176-155 win.

The game began in what looked like would be a narrowly contested match; Bear City quickly reached 40 points after blanking Ohio jammers six out of the game’s opening seven jams. Bear City blockers Maniacal Maiden and Lizzy Slaughter managed to open the track up for jammer Mia Missile to gain 25 points. In the eighth jam, the Bombers’ Jane van Pain was stymied by the Ohio defense, opening the track for Gorges Curves to score 12, followed by Pain Train’s nine points. At that point, it looked like Ohio felt a momentum shift, tightening their blocking and finding their jammers’ strengths. The run was short-lived, however, as multiple double-digit jams from Mia Missile and Jane van Pain from Bear City put Ohio back on the losing end of the scoreboard.

Refusing to let Berlin run away with the score, Ohio made another rally in the final minutes of the first period. In jams 16-19, Ohio went on a 39-8 run, bringing the point spread to within four at 80-84. A forearm penalty to jammer TactiGal for Ohio gave Bear City the chance to widen the spread going into halftime. Neither team used a timeout or an official review, and the period ended with Bear City up by 14 at 98-84.

The second period was similar to the first in that Bear City continued to put pressure on Ohio. Berlin managed a 33-8 point advantage in the opening ten minutes of play, Bombshells blockers Karo’Bolage and FoXy Führer held jammer Val Holla for a full 1:42 of a single jam. Ohio’s blockers didn’t let Berlin roll away, however; Blockers Lora Wayman and Blitz Lemon worked jammer Jane van Pain around the track which resulted in a forearm penalty, opening up the opportunity for Ohio jammer Gorges Curves to nab 10 points.

With 13:16 left in play, officials called a timeout to assess a delay of game penalty on Berlin for failing to field a team. That plus a cut track penalty by Mia Missile allowed Val Holla to score five more for Ohio, putting the score at 135-107 in Berlin’s favor. With 11 minutes left, Berlin’s blocker Lizzy Slaughter fouled out of the game, and for a team with only 12 rostered skaters, her absence was felt. Ohio burned through their timeouts in the final minutes of play, from jams 17-22, in an attempt to save time and stop the clock. With a huge apex jump, Ohio’s Pain Train made a valiant effort to close the gap in jam 20; she picked up 20 unanswered points, putting the score at 172-147. Her final efforts, however, weren’t enough and Bear City won the game with 176 to Ohio’s 155. Bear City’s Berlin Bombshells finished the tournament in ninth place, and Ohio fell a seeding rank to tenth place.

FINAL SCORE

Ohio Roller Derby (#8) 155 – 10th Place
Bear City Roller Derby(#14) 176 – 9th Place

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