SAULT STE. MARIE, Ont. — Hometown heroes Team Brad Jacobs had the crowd roaring during their 9-3 win over Team Mark Kean during the opening draw of the Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling National tournament Wednesday night.
Right from the opening ceremonies, the Sault Ste. Marie fans were on their feet cheering for the Olympic gold medallists Jacobs, Ryan Fry, E.J. Harnden and Ryan Harnden. The team fed off of that electric energy to capitalize early and steal three in the opening end and the team never relinquished the lead.
E.J. Harnden said it was important for the team to start off their hometown tournament in the win column.
“I think it allows us to feel a bit more comfortable,” Harnden said. “It was just nice to start off on the right foot, get the crowd into it, get the atmosphere where we want it to be and we’re in a good position now moving forward but we know that there’s a long way to go, lots of work left to do and hopefully we can keep it going.”
Team Kean, from Stoney Creek, Ont., got on the board with a point in the second but Jacobs replied with one of his own in the third. Kean added another single in four and Jacobs extended his lead with a deuce in five.
Kean settled for one in the sixth and shook hands after Jacobs added another three points in seven and the crowd erupted. Harnden said having the fan support helped them throughout the match.
“It was good because you knew when you’re in the hack after every shot if you made it you’re going to hear some sort of cheering and if you made a big shot you’re going to hear a roar,” Harnden said. “It’s more incentive obviously for us to make some big shots and make every shot we can because we know the crowd is going to be behind us and cheering for each rock that we throw.
“It was a great start. We didn’t expect anything less and we hope that it continues throughout the week and gets busier and busier.”
Pinty’s GSOC National: Latest scores and stats
Elsewhere in Draw 1 action, defending champion Glenn Howard, from Penetanguishene, Ont., also scored big to pick up an 8-4 win over Charlottetown’s Adam Casey.
Team Howard scored three in the first and added a deuce in the third to pull ahead 5-1. The two rinks exchanged singles and then deuces as they shook hands after seven.
“It’s always nice to start off with a win,” said Team Howard lead Craig Savill. “If you lose your first game it feels like you’re on your heels for the rest of it and you don’t want to get two losses. It’s a little scary when you get there because you’re looking at tiebreakers and stuff so it’s nice to get our first win.”
Casey, Josh Barry, Anson Carmody and Robbie Doherty represent the first rink from P.E.I. to compete in a Grand Slam tournament.
Winnipeg’s Mike McEwen topped Heath McCormick, of Blaine, Minn., with a 7-4 victory. McEwen jumped ahead with a deuce in the first, a three-ender in the third and single steals in the fourth and fifth ends to lead 7-1. McCormick charged back scoring two in the sixth and stealing one in the seventh but couldn’t complete the rally.
Winnipeg’s Jeff Stoughton stole points in three consecutive ends to win 7-3 over John Shuster from Duluth, Minn. Stoughton broke a 3-3 tie with a steal of one in the fifth followed by another single steal in six and a steal of two in the seventh to ice the game.
Calgary’s Kevin Koe stole singles in the seventh and eighth ends during a 6-3 victory over Peter de Cruz of Switzerland. De Cruz kept it tight early and tied it up 3-3 with a deuce in the fourth but Koe pulled back into the lead with a point in the fifth and held on from there.