CRANBROOK, B.C. — Mark Nichols skipped Team Gushue to a pair of big wins Wednesday at the Tour Challenge.
Following a 9-4 victory in the early afternoon draw against Scotland’s Kyle Smith, Nichols powered past Charley Thomas of Edmonton 8-4 during the evening.
Nichols trailed by two at the break, but turned things around dramatically in the fifth capitalizing after Thomas crashed on a guard to draw for five points and jump into the lead.
Mark Nichols draw for 5 points to take a 7-4 lead after 5 ends vs. Charley Thomas #GSOC #TourChallenge #curling pic.twitter.com/eZcJlt0PKy
— Grand Slam Curling (@grandslamcurl) November 10, 2016
Thomas (0-2) attempted a tricky in-off shot with his last in six, but was unable to move both of Nichols’ counters and gave up a steal that put the game to bed.
Charley Thomas can't get both counters & gives up a steal as Mark Nichols now leads 8-4 after 6 #GSOC #TourChallenge #curling pic.twitter.com/YBcJtQQ3Tb
— Grand Slam Curling (@grandslamcurl) November 10, 2016
Team Gushue second Brett Gallant said it was a good game overall for the St. John’s squad.
“There were some mistakes by both teams but I think we’re still trying to catch on to the ice and the new set of rocks,” he said. “We got fortunate that we got a few in a row there in that end and got five.”
Nichols, who regularly plays third, has taken the reins and is calling the shots with his 2006 Olympic gold medal teammate Brad Gushue nursing a hip injury. Adam Spencer is filling in at third this week with Gallant and lead Geoff Walker remaining in their front-end roles.
Thomas has also spared at third for Team Gushue this season playing with them two weeks ago at the WFG Masters. Gallant said it was certainly a bit odd facing Thomas this time around.
“It’s different seeing him on the other side,” Gallant said. “We have more respect for his shooting ability now after playing with him and seeing what he can do. We knew we had to make a lot of shots against him so it was good to get the win.”
Twelve-time Grand Slam champion Craig Savill has joined Thomas’s side at lead this season and is making his team debut at the Tour Challenge. Savill missed most of last season while he battled Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
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Meanwhile, Saskatoon’s Steve Laycock also made it a 2-0 Wednesday by taking two in the eighth to top American John Shuster 6-5. Shuster’s record is now level at 1-1.
Defending champ Kevin Koe of Calgary drew level for the day with a 6-5 extra-end win over Norway’s Thomas Ulsrud. Both teams are at 1-1.
In women’s division action, Edmonton’s Val Sweeting improved to a 1-1 record tripling up on Anna Hasselborg of Sweden 9-3. Sweeting was down by a point after four and grabbed the lead with a three count in the fifth then stole back-to-back pairs of points in six and seven to ice the game.
“I thought that the girls played really well,” Sweeting said. “The ice was a little bit heavier out there than it was yesterday but I thought that the girls caught onto it really well and we made some pretty precise shots. We did get some breaks but then we also capitalized too so it as a good game overall.”
Hasselborg also holds a 1-1 record.
Michelle Englot and her Winnipeg-based team also went 2-0 on the day capped with a 7-5 score over Chelsea Carey of Calgary. Carey, the reigning Scotties Tournament of Hearts champ, dropped to a 0-2 record.
NOTES: The Tour Challenge is the second of seven events on the 2016-17 Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling schedule. … TV coverage begins Thursday at 3 p.m. ET / Noon PT on Sportsnet and online/mobile at Sportsnet NOW. … Tour Challenge action resumes Thursday at 8:30 a.m. MT. … The Tour Challenge runs through to Sunday at Western Financial Place (all Tier 1 games and Tier 2 finals) and Memorial Arena (Tier 2 games from round-robin play to semifinals).
