The St. John’s Super Curling League results from Wednesday night at the ReMax Center.
McInnes Cooper 10 Team A. Harvey 4
Team A. Harvey got out to a 3-1 lead after 2 ends when Geoff Cunningham, throwing last rocks for the Glen Goss skipped team, navigated a port with hammer and knocked out shot rock for a 3-count. But second place McInnes Cooper took the lead to stay with 4 in the 3rd end when skip Trent Skanes executed a pretty split with hammer. After sharing a couple of singles, the decisive blow (another 4-count for McInnes Cooper) in the 6th end when Cunningham’s two outturn takeout attempts overcurled. Instead of Cunningham lying 3, Skanes was left with an open hit with hammer making the score 10-4 ….. more than enough for a victory. Their 10-3 record assured the Trent Skanes skipped foursome a spot in the coveted 1 vs. 2 game of the Page Playoff. The 5-8 Team A. Harvey gets $175 for their 2015-16 SuperLeague play.
Therapeutic Services Physiotherapy 9–Colin Thomas Men’s Team 5
The Therapeutic Services Physiotherapy foursome would have prepared for tonight’s encounter expecting an epic battle. They probably left the Club wondering how their success on the night came so easy. Skip Andrew Symonds had an open draw for 3 with hammer in the first end (after opposing skip, Colin Thomas, crashed a guard) and an open hit for 4 and a 7-2 lead in the 3rd end. Colin Thomas Men’s Team, the defending RE/MAX SuperLeague Champions, scored their second deuce in the 4th end, but gave the pair back in the 5th end making the score 9-4. Thomas with hammer in the 6th end needed to execute an up-weight “circus shot” for a pair but, when all the granite (his shooter, one in the 12-foot circle, one in the 8-foot, and 3 in the 4-foot behind cover) stopped moving, he was an inch short of scoring the pair that he felt was needed to continue. The win (above) by McInnes Cooper, paired with this loss by Team Thomas, kept them from that coveted second place position for the Page Playoff. The win by Therapeutic Services Physiotherapy eliminated five team that had 6 losses at the time of their shaking hands.
Olson Curling Supplies 4. Fun ‘N’ Fast 3
The centre-court “Feature Attraction” (and the Season’s second Father-Son Game with Ross Young, lead on Fun ‘N’ Fast playing his Son team; Zach Young is third stone with Olson Curling Supplies) did not disappoint. While it was a low-scoring affair, it would not have been considered “cautious”. All singles were scored and the outcome was decided by a precise shot with hammer in the final end. Pivotal shots were an open miss on a hit for a pair in the first end by Olson Curling Supplies skip, Adam Boland; a draw through traffic in the 5th end by Fun ‘N’ Fast skip, Jeff Thomas, to tie the game 2-2; and the last 4 rocks of the game with the score tied 3-3. Those last 4 shots were all inturn come-around draws to the button. The first 3 all came up to backing in the 4-foot circle, and Boland was able to use them with his hammer which just touched the previous stone and had a sufficient nibble of the button to score the 4-3 victory. While it was 30 minutes after the win on ice #2 (above) ended their playoff hopes, this game was a major accomplishment for the young Olson Curling Supplies foursome — to defeat the most experienced team in the 2015-16 RE/MAX SuperLeague field in terms of the number of Provincial Championships on their resumes. Both Olson Curling Supplies and Fun ‘N’ Fast ended up in a 3-way tie for 5th place (with Miller Lite / Platinum Business Solutions) at 7-6; good for $245 in winnings.
Miller Lite / Platinum Business Solutions 7 Team Labatt 3
Team Labatt, the new Provincial Women’s Champion, started slowly. Miller Lite / Platinum Business Solutions got out to a 4-0 lead after 2 ends by scoring a pair with the opening hammer and stealing a pair when Erin Porter (who moved up to skip for this game) “had nothing” with her hammer in the 2nd end (the men had two stones covereing the top half of the button behind a wall of guards with no run-back possibility). The women closed the score to 4-3 at the half when Porter executed a tap for a single followed by a steal of a pair in an end set up by them sinking a rock onto the button early in the end. Miller Lite / Platinum Business Solutions scored their third deuce of the game in the 5th end; then cautiously eliminated stones the rest of the way for a 7-3 victory. Team Labatt gets $140 for their 4-9 record this SuperLeague Season, and the Paul Harvey skipped foursome (cheered on by his Brother, “Leo Little” visiting from BC) ended up in the 3-way tie for 5th place at 7-6 with both Olson Curling Supplies and Fun ‘N’ Fast.
Shelley Hardy”s Womens team wins by default over Rick Rowsell Men’s Team L
The Rick Rowsell Men’s Team had wrapped up first place in the round robin (as they defeated both the Trent Skanes and Colin Thomas foursomes in their head-to-head meetings), and they defaulted this game to the Shelley Hardy Women’s Team due to travel and an injury. The women, as a result, climbed up a spot in the Standings and finished at 4-9; good for $140 in winnings.
Stavanger Dental 6 Team Strong 5
Both these teams entered the game with a chance of catching Therapeutic Services Physiotherapy (and other teams finishing at 7-6) in a tie for 4th place; the loser would be eliminated. The women held a brief lead; 2-1 after 3 ends when skip Heather Strong made a come-around tap with hammer using her left handed outturn. However Stavanger Dental scored the next 5 points and led 6-2 after 5 ends. In the steal of 3 in the 5th, Strong with hammer chose to attempt a long runback against two buried stones biting the button. Team Strong mounted a come-back scoring hard-earned singles the next 3 ends, but they would come up a point short of forcing an extra end (Strong made a double takeout with hammer in the 6th end, opposing skip Stephen Trickett made a triple takeout against 4 counters at the top of the 8-foot circle with his hammer in the 7th end, and Trickett hit what he could see of the more-open of two partially buried stones with his last rock of the game). Both these teams have accumulated $210 for their round robin wins; Stavanger Dental has a makeup game (against 4th place Therapeutic Services Physiotherapy) remaining.
STANDINGS / WINNINGS (and W or L streak) after 90 of 91 GAMES:
10 – 3 / $ 1L Rick Rowsell Men’s Team
10 – 3 / $ 5W Trent Skanes (McInnes Cooper)
9 – 4 / $ 1L Colin Thomas Men’s Team
8 – 4 / $ 2W Andrew Symonds (Therapeutic Services Physiotherapy)
7 – 6 / $245 1W Adam Boland (Olson Curling Supplies)
7 – 6 / $245 3L Jeff Thomas (Fun ‘N’ Fast)
7 – 6 / $245 1W Paul Harvey (Miller Lite / Platinum Business Solutions)
6 – 6 / $210 1W Stephen Trickett (Stavanger Dental)
6 – 7 / $210 2L Team Strong
5 – 8 / $175 1L Geoff Cunningham (Team A. Harvey)
4 – 9 / $140 4L Stacie Curtis (Team Labatt)
4 – 9 / $140 2W Shelley Hardy Women’s Team
4 – 9 / $140 1L Andrew Taylor (Carroll Investments)
3 – 10 / $105 1L John Sheppard Men’s Team
