ROWSELL, SMITH TIED FOR CURLING LEAD

ICE #1:   Defending Super League Champion Crosbie Group (skipped by Andrew Symonds) suffered an open hit for a 3-count in the third end against Service Master Restore (skipped by Nathan Young).   However that was the end of the scoring by this fine young Junior team.   Young had opened the scoring with an open hit against two counters in the first end.   There was nothing “open” about his shots in the remaining five ends as the Super League veterans, and the skip of Team NL in the 2019 Tim Hortons Brier, counted four singles and a pair.   There were lots of guards in play and granite in the house the rest of the way as Crosbie Group came from behind to defeat Service Master Restore 7-4.   The win saw Crosbie Group move to 3-3 and into a tie for fifth place in the Standings and threatening to move into a (customary) playoff position should either of the leaders falter in the second half of the schedule.   Service Master Restore Is at 2- 4 and in the 6-way tie for seventh place.

LINESCORE:           Crosbie Group        010  112  11  =  7

                     Service Master Restore  *    103  000  00  =  4

ICE #2:   Team Newfoundland Styro (skipped by Greg Smith) for the most part looked impressive against McInnes Cooper (skipped by Trent Skanes) and remained in a first place tie at 5-1.   They have consistently looked good in Super League, but the Fall Bonspiel Schedule has not been kind to them this year.   It was all singles and a 3-1 lead at the half for Team Newfoundland Styro with Skanes making the most memorable shot; in the second end, he removed two counters in a triple takeout attempt.   In the fifth end, the Smith foursome stole a pair for a comfortable, but short-lived, 5-1 lead.   In the sixth end, Skanes made a hit for a 3-count, but Smith rose to the challenge making a raise takeout for a pair with hammer and a 7-4 lead after the seventh end.   Smith guided his new-look (since representing NL at the 2018 Tim Hortons Brier) Team Newfoundland Styro to a 7-4 victory over McInnes Cooper by running the Skanes foursome out of rocks in the eighth end.

LINESCORE:    McInnes Cooper   *    001  003  0X  =  4

          Team Newfoundland Styro         110  120  2X  =  7

ICE #3:    Team Rowsell (skipped by Rick Rowsell) has not been out of first place since this SuperLeague season began, but AltoMaxx (skipped by Heather Strong) made a late surge in a scary attempt to give the Rowsell foursome back-to-back loses.   Rowsell was in trouble in the first end without hammer, but made a nice freeze to steal first blood.   In the second end, Rowsell made a triple takeout on his first stone; Strong went for a thin double takeout for a multiple but her left-handed out turn over curled.   The women tied the game 2-2 with a pair in the third end, but it was a left-handed outturn hit for three that under curled.   The margin of victory was achieved in the fifth end when Strong was a foot heavy on a freeze attempt after Rowsell had picked shot stone off the button.   In the sixth end, Strong needed a couple more inches of weight on a 5-foot raise for a pair to the full 4-foot circle; the single narrowed the score to 4-3.   In the next end, Rowsell had three counters in the full 4-foot circle and Strong stole a single to tie the game 4-4 by making a left-handed outturn double raise takeout (shot-of-the-week).   The Rowsell foursome was in serious trouble in the final end; after two nice hits by Strong, the women were lying four with the potential winning points biting either side of the front of the 4-foot circle.   Rowsell could draw the risky port with hammer, but chose to hit and roll; his out turn was swept hard all the way and rolled long hitting the back of the second stone in the 4-foot but staying in the back rings  —  the final score was Team Rowsell 5 AltoMaxx 4.

LINESCORE:                AltoMaxx   *   002  001  10  =  4

                                 Team Rowsell        110  020  01  =  5

ICE #4:   CIBC Wood Gundy (skipped by Daniel Bruce) gave up an early 2-0 lead in the second end to Quality Matters Molson Coors (skipped by Ken Peddigrew) when Bruce’s hammer jammed in hitting frozen stones.   That was quickly forgotten in the third end when the Juniors got a 4-count (equaling the biggest end this Super League Season) from a hit for six that jammed.   After trading singles, the score was 5-3 after five ends, but the Bruce foursome stole a pair when Peddigrew, with hammer and facing two guarded stones at the top of the button, attempted an in turn in-off but he hit the target stone too thin.   After counting another stolen point in the seventh end with Quality Matters Molson Coors desperate to score, CIBC Wood Gundy picked up an 8-3 victory over Quality Matters Molson Coors when the Peddigrew foursome conceded the win in the eighth end.   CIBC Wood Gundy moved into fourth place (the final playoff position) at 3-2 going into their make-up game (see below).   Quality Matters Molson Coors  is 2-4 and in the 6-way tie for seventh place.

LINESCORE:      Quality Matters Molson Coors   *   110  100  0X  =  3

                                                        CIBC Wood Gundy         004  012  1X  =  8

ICE #5:    The Father / Son game (veteran Jeff Thomas facing his Son, Colin), both former RE/MAX Super League Champions, would normally have qualified as the feature attraction.   However the game was a white-wash.   The seniors got more than a handful of premium rolls and outcomes that exceeded expectations.   The breaks came early in the 7-0 shutout by Team Thomas (skipped by Jeff Thomas) over Fun ‘n’ Fast (skipped by Colin Thomas) with the Colin Thomas foursome conceding victory in the sixth end.   The strength of the younger team has always been to smash rocks to get out of trouble, but, every time they got a lot of granite moving in this game, there seemed to be one or two opposing stones spinning off rocks at the sides of the sheet and rolling into favourable position in the rings.   It would have been a fun time to sit at the “Thomas Table” and hear the conversation in the club room after this one.   An hour after this game finished, the writer could sense some depression in a member of the losing team, and it was a fun time to discuss the happenings of the game with Jeff Thomas as we made our way to our vehicles in the parking lot.

LINESCORE:         Team Thomas   *   212  11X  =  7

        Fun ‘n’ Fast        000  00X  =  0

ICE #6:   You just knew this was going to be a great game when both skips hit the pin in their pre-game draw to the button.   With four stolen points and a 5-1 lead after five ends, AllStar Rebar (skipped by Evan McDonah) cast some doubts on their ability to go the distance against Egg Farmers of NL (skipped by Erica Curtis).   But the men scored consecutive singles to close the gap to 5-3 after seven ends.   (They guarded a well-placed shot stone all the way in that seventh end knowing they would have to play the last end to steal a pair in order to go an extra end.   It was up-weight peels and double takeouts by substitute third, Greg Blyde, that prevented a comeback in the final ends and ran AllStar Rebar out of stones.)   The margin of victory turned out to be a stolen pair in the fourth end opening a 4-1 lead at the half when the McDonah foursome with hammer faced two open counters on the centre line in the top half of the house; they could try to blank the end or make a difficult draw for a single.   No one saw the open miss for a deuce coming.   The final score was Egg Farmers of NL 5 AllStar Rebar 4.   At 4-1, Egg Farmers of NL can move into a tie for first place with a win in their make-up game (see immediately following).   AllStar Rebar is 2-4 and in the 6-way tie for seventh place.

LINESCORE:       AllStar Rebar    *   100  001  1X  =  3

                       Egg Farmers of NL      011  210  0X  =  5

MAKE-UP GAME:    This game will be added to this Report on Thursday morning,

LINESCORE:       CIBC Wood Gundy    *   

                                Egg Farmers of NL    *

The Round-Robin Standings after Draw #6 (35 games) follows:

5-1   Team Rowsell (skipped by Rick Rowsell)

5-1   Team Newfoundland Styro (skipped by Greg Smith)

4-1   Egg Farmers of NL (skipped by Erica Curtis)

3-2   CIBC Wood Gundy (skipped by Daniel Bruce)

3-3   Crosbie Group (skipped by Andrew Symonds)

3-3   Fun ‘n’ Fast (skipped by Colin Thomas)

2-4   AltoMaxx (skipped by Heather Strong)

2-4   AllStar Rebar (skipped by Evan McDonah)

2-4   Service Master Restore (skipped by Nathan Young)

2-4   McInnes Cooper (skipped by Trent Skanes)

2-4   Quality Matters Molson Coors (skipped by Ken Peddigrew)

2-4   Team Thomas (skipped by Jeff Thomas)