(19) Ohio To Host (33) Queen City and Hammer City Roller Girls
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04/22/2015 In Previews, Talk Derby To Me By Andrew Marron

(19) Ohio To Host (33) Queen City and Hammer City Roller Girls

This weekend will mark the third time in as many years the Queen City Roller Girls (Buffalo) will face off against the Ohio Roller Girls, with the visitors looking for their first ever victory over the Columbus squad.  They first met at Toronto’s Quad City Chaos in 2013 where Ohio was victorious 211-125.  Ohio followed that up with a victory at home last season 239-109.  Currently 3-2 in sanctioned play this season, the Ohio Roller Girls will look to stay above .500 as they still have twelve bouts on their regular season schedule.  The OHRG are looking to snap a two-game skid that saw them lose a non-sanctioned bout to Naptown (Indianapolis) 182-132, then to Boston 281-136.  If history is any indication of how Ohio will fare this weekend, the outlook is good for the home squad.  Since June 2010, the Ohio Roller Girls are 29-1 with home track advantage, with their sole loss coming last season to Atlanta.

Whereas Ohio has won their two previous bouts by a comfortable margin over Queen City, this bout has the feeling of a contest that could go either way.  The Buffalo squad has steadily improved over the past two seasons, making the WFTDA Division 2 Playoffs in both 2013 and 2014.  Most recently, Queen City also saw a jump in the latest WFTDA rankings release, climbing one spot from #34 to #33 in the world.  Last season, Queen City’s Lake Effect Furies went 7-4, and appear to be picking up this season right where they left off.  Three bouts into 2015 and Queen City currently sit at 2-1.  They opened their season with two solid victories over Roc City (Rochester, NY) 213-108 and the DC Rollergirls (Washington DC) 246-102.  They most recently lost a close bout to #27 Steel City (Pittsburgh) 183-173 in which Steel City needed a late push to avoid a Queen City upset.

Only losing a couple of skaters from last season (Abercrombie & Fists, Day TripHer), the Lake Effect Furies feature a veteran heavy squad that picks up more and more momentum as they play together.  Co-Captain Librawlian and Low-Hits Griffin will split the majority of jamming time for Queen City, as Vajenna Warrior, HerHeiny Granger, and other Co-Captain Tabrina Schreier will look to anchor the pack for the visitors.  In what has the potential to be a high-scoring bout, Queen City is actually averaging more points per bout than their Ohio counterparts, with an average of 211 points to Ohio’s 182.  Both teams’ defenses will have added pressure of holding back their opponent’s jammers, as the winner of this bout is likely to be determined on the defensive side.

Following the Ohio/Queen City bout, Gang Green will take on the Hammer City Roller Girls’ Eh! Team from Hamilton, Ontario.  Hammer City is a fully sanctioned charter team and is currently ranked #117 in the WFTDA.  Their only bout this season was a 44 point loss to Forest City in March, whereas Gang Green already has six bouts under their collective belts.  Their overall record may not exactly be where they’d like it to be (1-6), but Gang Green has played some of the best reserve squads in the country, including Boston’ B Party, Naptown’s Warning Belles, Tri-City’s Plan B, and Detroit’s Motor City Disassembly Line.

The bouts will be played at the Ohio Building located at the Ohio Expo Center (Ohio State Fairgrounds) this Saturday, April 25th.  Doors open at 4:00 p.m. with the Ohio/Queen City bout scheduled to start at 5:00 p.m.  The Gang Green/Hammer City bout will follow the charter bout, and should start at approximately 7:00 p.m.  For tickets and other information, check out http://ohiorollergirls.com/tickets/.

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Andrew Marron