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Dam City Rollers prepare for last game as playoffs draw near

The Dam City Rollers are citing penalty calls as the nails in their own coffin during the team's Friday night game against Rossland’s Gnarlies Angels.
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Kitty Karnage digs her shoulder into the Angels’ jammer as she tries to squeeze by

The Dam City Rollers are citing penalty calls as the nails in their own coffin during the team's Friday night game against Rossland’s Gnarlies Angels.

“We had a lot of penalties called against us,” Kitty Karnage said. “That was really hard and also we were playing a few new players.”

“We know that Angels are a strong team, but we wanted to let everybody have a chance to play.”

The two teams were close in the first half — with the Dam City Rollers even ahead at one point — but the Angels pulled ahead to take the win.

Karnage said part of everyone learning the game together, including volunteers and referees, is that sometimes mistakes happen, like when both jammers (skaters who score points) on a team a end up out on penalties.

“It’s nobody’s fault; it’s just that they were new,” Karnage said.

Karnage said they know what to work on before their next game against Nelson’s Lumber Jackies.

“We need to really work on playing a cleaner game,” she said. “I think a lot of us realize we can do it. We’re not as far behind as we thought we were in regards to other teams.”

The Dam City Rollers have a couple weeks before their next game on July 8.

“That should be really fun,” Karnage said. “We’re hoping for the win.”

She added the two teams are tied in standings right now, and the winner of that game is potentially third in the league. The game will be the last before playoffs start.

Th West Kootenay Women’s Roller Derby League is already preparing for next season with the addition of two new teams: the Bloodshed Betties from Trail and the Valley Vendettas from the Slocan Valley.

The “select” team is also gaining headway. After Friday’s games, a select number of skaters from each team came together to form the Kootenay Kannibelles in Kelowna’s Best of the West tournament, including three Dam City Rollers.

Karnage said eight leagues participated in the tournament, and the Kootenay team came fifth.

“[It’s] really good considering we’re a group of girls that have only been skating for a year or two and we were playing against girls that have skated together for five years,” she said.

To buy tickets for the game in Nelson, visit kootenayrollerderby.com.