Two Charlottetown Curling Club skips, who have been on winning Tankard teams since the early 1980’s, share the lead with 4-1 win-loss records after Thursday play at the Labatt Tankard Final Eight championship round, being played at the Montague Curling Club.
The Charlottetown Curling Club rink of John Likely, Phil Gorveatt, Mark Butler, and Mike Dillon, with 5th player Robert Campbell, had their first loss in the event on Thursday evening, losing 6-3 to clubmate and co-leader Ted MacFadyen, who kept Likely off the scoreboard in the first half, after taking a deuce in end two, and singles in four and five. Likely took singles in the next two ends to narrow the gap to 4-2, but an eighth end deuce gave MacFadyen a four point margin and the eventual win. Likely defeated Mike Gaudet, also playing out of Charlottetown, by a 7-4 in the afternoon draw, blanking the first three ends, and taking singles in the next three. Gaudet got on the scoreboard in the seventh end with a triple, but Likely deuces in ends eight and ten gave him the win.
Likely won his first Tankard in 1985, playing second stone for Dr. Wayne Matheson, and skipped a team to victory in 2002.
MacFadyen, who has five Tankards, his first in 1980, and six Seniors titles to his credit, is playing with Craig Mackie, David Murphy, and Mike Coady. He defeated Charlottetown clubmate Bill Hope 8-5 in the afternoon draw, aided by a fifth-end triple.
Following Likely and MacFadyen in the round robin standings is Rod MacDonald, with a 3-2 win-loss record. On Thursday, he doubled the Jamie Newson rink 10-5 in the afternoon draw, stealing a triple and a single in the fourth and fifth ends to lead 6-3 at half-time. MacDonald then went on to edge reigning Seniors champ Mel Bernard 7-6 in the evening draw.
Newson, Bernard, Gaudet and Hope are all at 2-3, while Clair Sweet from the Maple Leaf Curling CLub in O’Leary has one win against four losses.
Tiebreakers, if needed, plus the Page playoff games go on Saturday, with the semi-final going either Saturday night at 7 (if no tiebreakers) or Sunday morning at 10 The final is Sunday at 3 pm, with the winner advancing to the Tim Hortons Brier, March 7-15 in Calgary.