Last Saturday's bout was difficult for everyone. All in attendance were in mourning, not only for Andrew "Andy Capp" Hodge, a Slaughterhouse Referee, NSO, and man who put smiles on the faces and warmth in the hearts of all he met, but also for the father of one of the skaters who recently passed away. That night's bout was dedicated to these men who are greatly missed.
Perhaps because of the high running emotion, it was a particularly dirty game on both sides. Back-blocking, forearms and cutting were the most common penalties committed by both teams. Slaughterhouse with a whopping 57 minors and 29 majors, along with FoCo's 54 minors and 21 majors kept the penalty boxes full and the fans looking to see the new line-ups with every jam.
The pandemonium made it difficult to tell what exactly happened to our strategy, but by the end of the first half we knew one thing-- it wasn't working. Misty Skull-Krippler, our player who jammed the most in this bout and a jammer we're used to seeing high scores from, only managed 3 points in the first half. Aimee Armalite, the game's big scorer for FoCo, managed 24, but it just wasn't enough as we came to half time with the score standing: Slaughterhouse, 69 to FoCo, 40.
FoCo is famous for playing harder in the second half, sometimes making a comeback, so I looked forward to the next period. It was a mixture of hope and heartbreak, as FoCo cleaned up their game, committing less than half the penalties as in the first half (in spite of Slaughterhouse stepping up their penalties) and began serious scoring. Chocolate Milfshake, Raven Luna C (one of our new girls in her first bout), and Rox Yorr Soxov put on the gas. FoCo scored more points than Slaughterhouse in the second half and it looked like we were not only going to catch up, but overtake them.
There was a good chance we would have won the game, if it wasn't for a few key mishaps, not just affecting scoring ability, but overall morale. LA's Finest, also playing her first bout, played a penalty heavy game from start to finish and was expelled in the 5th jam of the second half for too many trips to the box. Adding insult and injury, Rox Yorr Soxov, who was scoring big in the last half, was taken out of the game in the 11th jam due to injury by what looked like a barely legal hit. Mary Poppin' Caps was also sent out for injury in the second to last jam of the bout.
Final score sat Slaughterhouse at 143 to FoCo's 119. Victory or defeat, the first bout of the season is always an exciting one. In victory we celebrate our hard work that got us there and in defeat we learn what we need to do better. I'm excited to see what new strategies lay ahead and our new girls in our first home bout on March 12th and hope to see you all there!
Your Humble Announcer,
~Evil I. McVillain
