SUMMERSIDE – The 2011 Labatt Tankard provincial men’s curling championship will go down to the final day here at the Silver Fox Curling and Yacht Club.

The John Likely rink stayed alive with a 9-1 win over the previously-undefeated Eddie MacKenzie foursome in Monday night’s C section final. That win forced a championship round between the two Charlottetown Curling Club rinks today. MacKenzie, who won the A and B sections over the weekend, could have won his first Tankard title as a skip by sweeping all three sections.

“We had a bad game, we just have to forget about it,” said Mike Gaudet, third stone on the MacKenzie rink.

MacKenzie fell to 7-1 (won-lost) while Likely improved to 7-2 in the triple-knockout format. The scenario is simple – Likely must win the 2 p.m. draw to force a sudden-death game at 7 p.m. MacKenzie just needs one win to earn P.E.I.’s berth in the Tim Hortons Brier in London, Ont., from March 5 to 13.

“We just have to come out with a positive attitude, have a good game and see what happens,” said Gaudet.

Faced with the daunting task of having to defeat MacKenzie in three straight games, Likely said he and his team of third stone Kyle Stevenson, second stone Mark Butler and lead Doug MacGregor are taking things one shot at a time.

“That’s all you can do,” said Likely. “We’re playing well now. . . We didn’t play many games all year, and we’re starting to hit our stride.”

Click for full story in today’s Journal-Pioneer.

Photo: John Likely of Charlottetown gets ready to release a shot during the C?section final against clubmate Eddie MacKenzie at the Labatt Tankard provincial men’s curling championship Monday in Summerside. Transcontinental Media photo by Jason Simmonds