It was quite the hairy night at the Mad Rollin’ Dolls “Wig-Out Mustache Bash,” the last opportunity the home teams had to secure a rank in the semi-finals.

Quad Squad 124, Vaudeville Vixens 99

The Quad Squad punched their way to a 124-99 victory against the Vaudeville Vixens in a fashion hauntingly familiar to long-time MRD fans: consistent, methodical pack work in support of a largely two-jammer rotation. But those jammers, Thunder Kitten and Jenny Knoxville, are about all that remain of the Quad Squad crew of 2006 and 2008. The supporting cast is almost entirely new, and after two years without a home season win, the Quad Squad made it two wins in a row.

Despite gaining lead jammer status in five of the first six jams, the Quad Squad only managed a 16-13 scoring lead. The seventh jam finally unknotted the score in the Quad Squad’s favor. Daizee Haze earned a penalty on her knock down of Vixens jammer Major Kusaknocky, but the remaining pack of Kit Shickers, Cy Borg and Allie Gator formed a three-skater wall that neither the Vixens pack could break nor Major K pass through. Jenny Knoxville made her own way through the Vixen blockers, earning ten points for her team and a 26-13 lead.

With a bit of separation now, the Quad Squad began to put up three and four-point scores while stifling the Vixen jammers. Vixens roamer Mustang kept the score from ballooning beyond reach during a 2-5 short-handed jam with a trap hit on Thunder Kitten, and the Quad Squad pack demonstrated their collective mettle in shutting down Vixens jammer Velma von Tussle during a short-handed jam of their own. With Thunder Kitten starting the eighteenth jam in the penalty box, Vixens Darling Nikki and Chop Suzzy worked together to spring Chop for eight points to close the gap just a bit, 61-26. At half, the Quad Squad led 65-30.

The Vixens defensive stiffened to start the second half, but they still couldn’t find points of their own. In nip-and-tuck play, the Quad Squad outscored the Vixens 16-11 by the mid-point of the half for an 81-41 lead. It was at this point, starting with a 4-2 pack advantage, that the Quads had an excellent opportunity to seal the game. Instead, the Vixens blocking duo of Darling Nikki and Chop Suzzy shut down Lil Miss Behavin’. Major Kusaknocky found her way through the Quad Squad defense for eight Vixen points. The score was 85-49 with 12 minutes remaining, and the gap was still bridgeable.

It wasn’t to be. Thunder Kitten faced off against rookie Tipsy Velvet in the following jam and racked up a 20-0 score. The Vixens finished with a scoring charge, thanks largely to three jammer penalties from Lil Miss Behavin’. Ninja scored 15 with under seven minutes to go, and Major Kusaknocky closed out the game with 28 points to make the game appear closer than it had been at a 124-99 final score.

The Vixens fought hard all bout long, but simply didn’t have the depth or discipline to match their opponent. Major Kusaknocky, thanks to that big last jam, led the Vixens with 42 points. Chop Suzzy was the more consistent jammer, grabbing lead jammer seven times in ten tries for 25 points. She and Darling Nikki, six-year veterans and as familiar with one another as two skaters can be, worked together beautifully on both offense and defense. Nikki led the Vixens in total blocker actions with 21, while the always active Mustang added 14.

Just two weeks ago, Thunder Kitten set an individual league single game scoring record with 72 points. She surpassed that mark on this night with 83 points in support of the Quad Squad’s pack effort. The pivot duo of Thrill Show and Kit Shickers were most active in pack, but veteran Allie Gator and rookie Buzz Tightrear were both in double figures for combined actions. On a somber note, rookie Rhoda Hell went down late in the first half with a knee injury, likely bringing an end to her season.

by Geoffrey Saucer