Nutcrackers v. Cosmonaughties
Mona Mour
Saturday marks the last home game of the regular season at Shriner's auditorium, and the anticipation has never been higher. The Cosmonaughties (1-2) will face off against the Nutcrackers (0-3). This game will essentially be a test run for season 4 playoff game next month, when the Cosmos and the Nuts will face off to see who will get a shot at toppling the undefeated Wicked Pissahs in September's championship game.
The Nutcrackers have yet to see a win this season, but they've been on a steady upward climb since the start of the season. A mid-season roster shake-up had great success against the Pissahs in June. Britknee Breaker moved from her front-of-the-pack blocking position to join Lil Paine on the jammer line. The mighty duo, who also join forces to lead the Nuts as co-captains, scored a combined total 105 points for the Nuts. Rookies Maya Mangleyou and Shark Week were then free to join the pack with Kitty Twister and Malicen Thunderland, creating some major nets to capture Pissah jammers. This line-up shake-up proved wildly successful for the Nutcrackers. In their first two games of the season they lost to the Cosmos by over 100 points and to the Pissahs by 40 points. The new Nut crew held the lead for nearly the entire game in June, and only 1 point in the final jam kept them from victory.
The Cosmonaughties have felt the sting of a heartbreaking loss this season as well, and they would love to hold the Nuts to a 0-4 home season with a win on Saturday. Challenging the Nuts and their new strategy will be the bright new star of the Cosmos: Lady Shatterly. Shatterly scored an unbelievable 89 points for the Cosmos when the two teams last met, and her lighting speed will be a challenge for the Nuts pack to contain. Co-captain Hayley Contagious will also be heavy in the jammer rotation, and the Nuts will need to look out for her hard hits, which she uses to create her own holes in the pack.
With a jammer like Shatterly on the team, the Cosmos will need to focus much of their strategy on defense. They've been succesful this season in building walls and nets to contain jammers, and their teamwork has paid off. But the Cosmos will have their work cut out for them containing Breaker and Paine. With veteran blockers like Bedlam Belle and Rocky joined by new stars like Dee Stortion and rookie Peggy Sueplex (who has proved to be surprisingly tenacious) on the track, the Space Brain may be able to hold back the dynamic duo.
Both teams are starving for a win in this game, with the stakes particularly high for the winless Nutcrackers. For a team that went undefeated in season 3, they would hate to see a 0-4 record next to their name. With that in mind, they'll be bringing out the big guns, big hits, and power jams. If they play like they did in June, they just might take home the win. If you think you know who will win this game, think again. Nothing is for certain on the home track this Saturday. |
