Final Eight complete at Labatt Tankard playdowns
Hope and Sweet take final two spots
Feb. 1-The remaining two teams for the Final Eight portion of the Labatt Tankard Provincial Men's Curling Championships were decided on Sunday at the Western Community Curling Club in Alberton. Bill Hope beat Charlottetown clubmate Kyle Stevenson 7-5 to qualify in the seventh position, while it took an extra end for Clair Sweet of the Maple Leaf Curling Club in O'Leary to edge newcomer Jeff Wilson of Charlottetown by an 8-7 score, stealing the last three ends to take the final spot in the Eights.
Hope, with teammates Dennis Watts, Jeff Gallant, and Phillip MacInnis, trailed Stevenson, who has been to the Final Eights the last four years, 4-3 after seven ends, but scored a triple in the eighth to take the lead. They traded singles in the final two ends to give Hope the two-point win. Hope beat Charlottetown clubmate Robert Shaw 7-5 on Saturday night, while Stevenson trounced Calvin Smith of Charlottetown 12-4 Sunday afternoon to advance to the qualifier game.
Sweet trailed 6-2 at half-time in his qualifier game, after Jeff Wilson took four in the fifth. They traded singles for the next three ends, and Sweet stole a deuce in the ninth and a single in the tenth to tie the game. He stole another single in the extra end for the win. Other members of the Sweet team are Bob Matheson, Muncey Harris, and Wayne Arsenault.
Sweet beat Maple Leaf clubmate Daryl MacDonald 10-4, while Wilson defeated Summerside's Terry Arsenault rink 3-1 on Sunday afternoon to get to the qualifer.
The other six teams in the Final Eight, Rod MacDonald, John Likely, Jamie Newson, Ted MacFadyen, and Mike Gaudet, all from the Charlottetown Curling Club, and Mel Bernard from the Silver Fox, qualified on Saturday. The scene now shifts to the Montague Curling Club for the Final Eight championshop round, from February 10-15, with the winner advancing to the Tim Horton Brier, March 7-15 in Calgary.
Jan. 31-With only two draws remaining at the Labatt Tankard Provincial Men's Curling Playdowns at the Western Community Curling Club in Alberton, six of the eight teams to advance to the Final Eight championship round, February 10-15 in Montague, have been chosen.
The first Final Eight team to be chosen was the Charlottetown Curling Club rink of Rod MacDonald, Kevin Champion, Andrew Robinson, and Mark O'Rourke, with fifth player Peter MacDonald, and coach Pat Aylward. Seeded number three going into the event, they beat top seed Mike Gaudet, also from the Charlottetown club, 6-2 in the first of two A pool finals in this triple-knockout event, stealing singles in the last three ends en route to the win.
The John Likely foursome, seeded second, were the second team to advance to the Final Eight. Likely's team includes Phil Gorveatt, Mark Butler, and Mike Dillon, with fifth Robert Campbell. They shaded their Charlottetown clubmates the Kyle Stevenson rink by a 5-4 score in an extra end. Likely stole the ninth end to lead 4-2 coming home. Stevenson forced the extra end with a double, but Likely recorded a single in the extra for the trip to the Eights.
Final Eight team number three is the Charlottetown Curling Club foursome of Jamie Newson, Tim Hockin, Darren Higgins, and Matthew MacCarville, who beat the Daryl MacDonald rink from the Maple Leaf Curling Club in O'Leary by a 13-4 score in the first of four B section qualifier games. MacDonald started out well, taking a pair in the first end, and stole another deuce in the second for a 4-0 lead. Things went downhill rapidly, though, with Newson taking a six-ender in the third, following it with steals of one, two, and four points to put the game out of reach after only six ends of play.
The fourth team to qualify is this year's Provincial Seniors Champions, the Mel Bernard rink from the Silver Fox Curling and Yacht Club in Summerside. Bernards teammates are Blair Jay, Doug Simmons, and Earle Proude. Seeded eighth, they beat number four seed Kyle Stevenson by a 9-8 score in an extra end to advance to the Eights.
The number five spot goes to Ted MacFadyen from the Charlottetown club, veteran of five Labatt Tankard championships, and six Seniors titles, and runner-up to Bernard in this year's Seniors final. MacFadyen, and his team of Craig Mackie, David Murphy and Mike Coady, with coach Al Ledgerwood, beat newcomer Jeff Wilson, also from Charlottetown, by a 9-4 score, taking four points in the seventh, to end the game early.
The final B section Final Eight qualifier is top seed Mike Gaudet and his Charlottetown Curling Club rink of Eddie MacKenzie, Tyler Harris, and Sean Clarey, who beat the Terry Arsenault rink from the Silver Fox by a 7-5 score on the Saturday evening qualifying game. A stolen triple in the third end game Gaudet an early lead, which he maintained through the game, keeping the Arsenault foursome from scoring more than a single in the remaining ends.
The final two spots in the Eights will be decided on Sunday, with draws at 1 and 6 pm.
The 6 pm final for spot number seven will see Bill Hope play the winner of a 1 pm game between Kyle Stevenson and Charlottetown clubmate Calvin Smith. Hope beat Charlottetown clubmate Robert Shaw 7-5 on Saturday night to advance to the qualifying game.
The last spot in the Eights will also be decided at 6 pm, when the winners of 1 pm games between Daryl MacDonald and Clair Sweet, both from the Maple Leaf club, and between Jeff Wilson and Terry Arsenault will play off
The winning team from the Final Eight round will advance to the Tim Horton Brier, March 7-15 in Calgary.
Here are the Final Eight (skip to lead):
| Q1: |
Rod MacDonald, Kevin Champion, Andrew Robinson, Mark O'Rourke, Peter MacDonald (5th), Pat Aylward (coach) |
Charlottetown |
| Q2: |
John Likely, Phil Gorveatt, Mark Butler, Mike Dillon, Robert Campbell (5th) |
Charlottetown |
| Q3: |
Jamie Newson, Tim Hockin, Darren Higgins, Matthew MacCarville |
Charlottetown |
| Q4: |
Mel Bernard, Blair Jay, Doug Simmons, and Earle Proud |
Silver Fox |
| Q5: |
Ted MacFadyen, Craig Mackie, David Murphy, Mike Coady, Al Ledgerwood (coach) |
Charlottetown |
| Q6: |
Mike Gaudet, Eddie MacKenzie, Tyler Harris, Sean Clarey |
Charlottetown |
| Q7: |
Bill Hope, Dennis Watts, Jeff Gallant, Phillip MacInnis |
Charlottetown |
| Q8: |
Clair Sweet, Bob Matheson, Muncey Harris, Wayne Arsenault |
Maple Leaf |