A Child Of Atom

Derby season officially opened last night, coincidentally the game was between the two teams that I have left in my chibi artwork, the Manhattan Mayhem and the Queens of Pain. Queens was the season champs in both 2005 and 2006 and they barely missed being champs in 2008, so obviously a strong team. Manhattan is... well... not. They are the clear underdogs of the league and going into the draft for this season they were also the team with the fewest players. So this game was not only mismatched in terms of past performance, but Manhattan is basically a team of rookies at his point, with more new players than veterans. They have been skating together as a team for a bit more than a month. But I had hopes.

Hopes that were futile it turns out. Manhattan had a strong showing in the first 15 minutes of the game, managing to keep a tight score behind Queens. In a game that can score up to 15 points during a 2 minute jam they were within 9 points at the 20 minute mark. And then it all went wrong. The team fell apart. Several of their players spent practically the rest of the game in the penalty box, and Queens just kept pulling further and further ahead until the won the game with 152 points to Manhattan's 71.

But still... it's derby season!! And with some practice I think Manhattan might actually have a team worth fielding this season. Two of their players are transfers from other leagues, and several of the new girls really show promise, they were just really really raw.

I know several of you local types have expressed interest in attending bouts in the past. The next game is June 7, so get in touch if you want to go!