All the hard work comes down to this.  On Saturday and Sunday the top eight teams in the country converge on the Midwest Sports Hockey Complex in Queeny park for the 2012 MRDA Championships: Gateway to the Best!  I’ll give you a quick break-down of the eight teams competing and a look at the first round match-ups.  All of the weekend’s action will be streaming live on DNN!

#1  Your Mom Men’s Roller Derby (Des Moines, IA) - Hard to argue against ranking them #1.  With a 6 – 1 record including big wins over #3 New York (199 – 150) at Spring Roll and then a convincing win over #5 Puget Sound (257 – 143) on July 7th, this second year team has shown that they are up to the task.  The only blemish on their record was a 330 – 78 loss at the number two St. Louis GateKeepers in which they had a short bench and were lacking quite possibly their three best players in Peter Pan, Frank Not Sohotra and Seahorses Forever.

2012 Record:  6-1 (Sanctioned)
4/21    Your Mom: 315          Kornstalkers: 56
5/12    Your Mom: 199          Shock Exchange: 150
5/13    Your Mom: 427          Harm City: 50
5/13    Your Mom: 318          Dirty Dozen: 59
7/7      Your Mom: 257          Puget Sound: 143
9/1      Your Mom: 399          Rock City Riot: 21
9/22    Your Mom: 78            GateKeepers: 330

 #2  St. Louis GateKeepers (St. Louis, MO) – The GateKeepers’ current record of 7 – 1  includes wins over #6 Portland (301 – 72) at Spring Roll, #7 Dallas (340 – 83) at home on June 30th and an impressive win over #3 New York (197 – 141) in New York on August 11th.  Their sole loss came at the hands of #3 New York at Spring Roll (131 – 125) on the last jam of the game.  While ranked #2 going into the tournament, many consider the GateKeepers the team to beat due to the strong schedule and how strong the team has played all year.

2012 Record: 7-1 (Sanctioned)
5/12    GateKeepers: 301       Portland: 72
5/13    GateKeepers: 263       Dirty Dozen: 43
5/13    GateKeepers: 125       Shock Exchange: 131
6/30    GateKeepers: 340       Dallas Deception: 83
8/11    GateKeepers: 197       Shock Exchange: 141
8/12    GateKeepers: 325       Death Quads: 68
9/22    GateKeepers: 330       Your Mom: 78
9/23    GateKeepers: 300       Race City: 76

MRDA’s Write-up on St. Louis GateKeepers

#3  New York Shock Exchange (New York, NY) – The winners of last year’s MRDA Championship are positioned nicely going into the tournament.  Their 8 – 2 record includes wins over #2 GateKeepers (131 – 125) and #6 Portland (270 – 82) at Spring Roll and two wins over #8 Mass Maelstrom (210 – 82) on June 9th and (281 – 52) on August 18th.  Their two losses came at the hands of #1 Your Mom (199 – 150) at Spring Roll and #2 GateKeepers (197 – 141) on August 11th in New York.

2012 Record: 7 – 2 (Sanctioned)
3/31    Shock Exchange: 366    Harm City: 86
4/21    Shock Exchange: 416    Trauma Authority: 47
5/12    Shock Exchange: 150    Your Mom: 199
5/13    Shock Exchange: 270    Portland: 82
5/13    Shock Exchange: 131    GateKeepers: 125
6/9    Shock Exchange: 201    Mass Maelstrom: 82
8/11    Shock Exchange: 141    GateKeepers: 197
8/18    Shock Exchange: 537    Mean Mountain: 22
8/19    Shock Exchange: 399    Mass Maelstrom: 52

MRDA’s Write-up on New York Shock Exchange

#4  Magic City Misfits (Jacksonville, FL) - The Magic City Misfits are quite the enigma coming into the tournament.  The only undefeated team in the rankings with a 4 – 0 record, Magic City’s only win over a top ten ranked team came on June 23rd when they beat Race City 267 – 107 at home.  This is a team full of talented skaters who don’t get to skate together very often due to the fact that many of the team’s members do not live in Jacksonville or even Florida.  The fact is no one knows how well Magic City will play once the tournament begins, but their flashy style and skating skills will certainly be a crowd-pleaser.

2012 Record: 4-0 (Sanctioned)
5/12    Magic City: 285    Rock City Riot: 28
5/13    Magic City: 407    Death Quads: 100
5/13    Magic City: 617    Kornstalkers: 100
6/23    Magic City: 267    Race City: 107

MRDA’s Write-up on Magic City Misfits

#5  Puget Sound Outcast Derby (Tacoma, WA) - Puget Sound comes into the tournament with a record of 3 – 1.  Two of those wins came over #6 Portland on February 12th (232 – 93) and June 9th (261 – 90).  Their sole loss of the season came at the hands of #1 Your Mom on July 7th (257 – 143) in Des Moines.  Another team that didn’t get many games in this year, Puget Sound will have their work cut out for them.

2012 Record: 3-1 (Sanctioned)
2/12    Puget Sound: 232        Portland: 93
6/9    Puget Sound: 368        Lane County: 47
6/9    Puget Sound: 261        Portland: 90
7/7    Puget Sound: 143        Your Mom: 257

MRDA’s Write-up on Puget Sound Outcast Derby

#6  Portland Men’s Roller Derby (Portland, OR) - Portland enters the tournament with a record of  3 -4 and while Portland hasn’t beaten anyone else that will be playing in the tournament, their strength of schedule and quality of play impressed enough people to get them in.  Their most impressive win came over former #7 Race City at Spring Roll (170 – 61).   This is a young team with a lot of raw talent.

2012 Record: 3-4 (Sanctioned)
2/12    Portland: 93        Puget Sound: 232
5/12    Portland: 72        GateKeepers: 301
5/12    Portland: 170    Race City: 61
5/13    Portland: 82        Shock Exchange: 270
5/13    Portland: 296    Death Quads: 72
6/9    Portland: 307    Lane County: 60
6/9    Portland: 90        Puget Sound: 261

MRDA’s Write-up on Portland

#7  Dallas Deception (Dallas, TX) - Dallas comes into the tournament with a 3 – 1 record.  The only team they have faced that will also be in the tournament is the #2 GateKeepers whom they will be playing in the first round.  When these two last met in St. Louis on June 30th, the GateKeepers won by a score of 340 – 83.  Of their three wins, two came against Cowtown (Kansas City – Unranked) and the other was against Twin Cities Terrors (Minnesota).

2012 Record: 3-1 (Sanctioned)
4/14    Deception: 321    Cowtown Butchers: 73
6/30    Deception: 83    GateKeepers: 340
7/7    Deception: 357    Cowtown Butchers: 55
8/18    Deception: 237    Twin Cities Terrors: 130

MRDA’s Write-up on Dallas Deception

#8  Mass Maelstrom (Lancaster, MA) - Moving up two spots from #10 in the mid-season rankings, Mass Maelstrom ends the regular season with a prolific 9 – 4 record.  The amount of games this team played is staggering.  They went 1 – 1 with Race City and lost to New York twice.  Mass Maelstrom is very physical team with a lot of skating talent.

2012 Record: 9-4 (Sanctioned)
4/7    Mass Maelstrom: 199    Quadfathers: 126
4/14    Mass Maelstrom: 207    Death Quads: 172
5/12    Mass Maelstrom: 135    Race City: 168
5/13    Mass Maelstrom: 249    Kornstalkers: 116
5/13    Mass Maelstrom: 177    Rock City Riot: 175
6/3    Mass Maelstrom: 165    Dirty Dozen: 148
6/9    Mass Maelstrom: 82    Shock Exchange: 201
6/30    Mass Maelstrom: 143    Harm City: 184
7/6    Mass Maelstrom: 327    Dirty Dozen: 70
8/18    Mass Maelstrom: 231    Trauma Authority: 74
8/19    Mass Maelstrom: 203    Race City: 125
8/19    Mass Maelstrom: 52    Shock Exchange: 281
9/8    Mass Maelstrom: 479    Mean Mountain: 87

MRDA’s Write-up on Mass Maelstrom

Game 1 – #1 Your Mom Men’s Roller Derby vs. #8 Mass Maelstrom (9:00am Saturday, October 20th)

The opening game of the tournament is going to be a match-up of speed versus strength.  Your Mom boasts a line-up featuring a bevy of speed skaters and possibly the best defensive player in Seahorses Forever.  Mass Maelstrom counters with a near-unmatched physicality and scrappy attitude.  While Mass Maelstrom is a relatively young franchise, they have made a big splash this year and earned their entrance to the tournament.

Game 2 – #2 St. Louis GateKeepers vs. #7 Dallas Deception (11:00am Saturday, October 20th)

The GateKeepers’ first round opponent is the Dallas Deception.  These two teams faced off in what could only be described as a knock-down, drag-out fight back in June.  The GateKeepers won by a 340 – 83 margin, but it was by no means easy.  Dallas played them with the same determination and physicality from start to finish and are likely to do the same here.  The GateKeepers are on a five game win streak going into the tournament and have home-court advantage.  You have to think the melt-down at last years’ champs is motivating this squad just a bit more than normal.

Game 3 – #3 New York Shock Exchange vs. #6 Portland Men’s Roller Derby (1:00pm Saturday, October 20th)

The Shock Exchange will face off against Portland in the first round.  These two teams met back in May at Spring Roll and the meeting was not kind to Portland.  New York won by a score of 270 – 82, but Portland fought hard the entire game and learned a lot from the mistakes they made.  Expect this to be a sound fundamental game as both New York and Portland rely on strategy and execution to control bouts.

Game 4 – #4 Magic City Misfits vs #5 Puget Sound Outcast Derby (3:00pm Saturday, October 20th)

The most highly anticipated match up in the first round (and quite possibly the entire tournament), this bout has something for everyone.  Magic City has some of the most talented and flash skaters in all of the MRDA and Puget Sound has a physicality and demeanor that wears you down.  These two styles of play will go head to head in the last game of the first round.  This will be the first time these two teams have faced off.

Tickets are still available for this event online at Brown Paper Tickets or at the door Saturday and Sunday!  You do not want to miss this unique chance to see some the best men’s derby in the country in your own backyard!

On October 27th, the craziest Halloween party takes place as the St. Louis GateKeepers Present: HallowGreen III: Part 2 – The Sequel at Luna Lounge in South St. Louis City.  Come dressed to scare and dance as there will be amazing drink specials and costumes!

See you at the bouts!

Star-Spangled Hammer

Star-Spangled Hammer and Magilla Guerilla are the announcers for the St. Louis GateKeepers!