ICE #1: Ches’s Fish & Chips (skipped by Greg Blyde) took control in their game with ASHAM (skipped by Greg Smith) by stealing a point in the 5th end for a 4-2 lead. The teams traded singles the rest of the way before Blyde ran ASHAM out of rocks in the final end for a 5-3 victory. These young teams are the future of SuperLeague curling and it was a rewarding experience to see them fight out a close encounter with lots of rocks in play.
ICE #2: The positive highlight for the week for McInnes Cooper / Power Conditioning Inc. (skipped by Trent Skanes) was a nice control-weight double takeout by Skanes for three in the 3rd opening up a 4-1 lead. After a force in the 4th, Team Kelli Turpin played solid without the hammer for the next number of ends. Counting one trying to lie four in the 5th end, Skanes accidentally tapped in an opposing stone for shot and “the skirts” ended up stealing another point. After another steal in 6th, making the score 4-4 third Michelle Jewer made a fabulous come around in a junked up 7th to lie two. The last rock draw by Skanes rested on the tee line just wide of where it needed to be — a steal of 2. In the final end, down 6-4, Skanes had a double run back to score 3 and snatch the win away but it just overcurled; a 7-4 win for Team Kelli Turpin.
ICE #5: Team Heather Strong took advantage by turning stolen deuces in the 1st and 5th ends into a 5-2 win over McInnes Cooper / Power Conditioning Inc. (skipped by Trent Skanes). The first pair came from a big-weight open miss on a double-takeout attempt with hammer by Skanes, and the second pair came in an end with lots of rocks guarding the centre line (the early-season ice at the RE/MAX Centre has been challenging for teams to make a high percentage of big-weight runbacks to get out of trouble).
ICE #6: Coastal Chiropractic (skipped by Matthew Smith) took 3 in the 2nd and a stolen single in the 3rd for a 4-1 lead but was unable to hold on for an upset of the SuperLeague Defending Champions. Team Mark Noseworthy responded with a point in the 4th end, a steal of a pair in the 5th, and another deuce in the 6th for a 6-4 lead. The final score was 7-4 as Smith, with hammer and needing a pair, was unable to get at a Noseworthy counter to send the game to an extra end.
The eight teams idle this week were Team A. Harvey (skipped by Geoff Cunningham), makethecall.ca skipped by Colin Thomas, Team Rick Rowsell, Team Paul Harvey, Therapeutic Services Physiotherapy (skipped by Andrew Symonds), Team Adam Boland, Team Stacie Curtis, and Team Nathan Young. (There are indications that all teams will be devoted to playing games, and make-up games, as scheduled effective immediately.)
