Keep it here all day for live updates from the provincial curling championships to decide who’s bound for the Tim Hortons Brier.
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Glenn Howard is heading to the Brier for a 16th time.
Howard made an incredible double raise tap for two in the last end to top John Epping 6-5 to win the Recharge with Milk Ontario Men’s Tankard on Sunday in Brantford.
Epping opened with hammer and made a draw against three for a single. Howard took two in the second and Epping matched with a deuce in three. Howard made a double takeout for a point in four.
Epping blanked the fifth and was forced to a single in six as sweepers Tim March and Patrick Janssen dragged their last stone into the four-foot circle while facing two counters. Howard faced five counters with his last in the eighth and grabbed a piece of the button for one to knot it back up. Epping was held to one in nine.
Howard, from Penetanguishene, made the draw to the eight-foot circle with his last in the extra end to edge Toronto’s Mike Harris 5-4 during Sunday morning’s semifinal to advance.
Epping topped Howard 5-4 during the page playoff 1 vs. 2 game Saturday afternoon. Team Howard went 10-0 through the round robin including a 7-3 win over Epping.
Provincial Championships: Live Scoring | Playoff Brackets | TV Schedule
Howard blanked the first end and made an angle raise to bump his other stone to the button and scored one in the second. Harris blanked the third and tied it up in the fourth. After back-to-back blanks in five and six, Howard’s patience paid off as he got an open hit and stick for a deuce to pull back ahead.
Harris made the gentle draw to the four-foot circle while facing three counters in eight to settle for a single. Howard looked to make a double takeout for two points in the ninth but his shooter stuck and only counted one. Harris made the hit for a deuce in the 10th to force the extra frame.
Harris, the 1998 Nagano Olympics silver medallist, scored a 9-4 victory over Greg Balsdon, also from Toronto, in the 3 vs. 4 game.
Team Howard is missing vice skip Wayne Middaugh, who sustained a broken leg during a skiing accident last month. Adam Spencer, who’s part of the spare pool on hand at the event, has filled in admirably at second with Richard Hart moving up to the third. Howard’s team also includes his son Scott Howard at lead.
Mike Kennedy is off to the Tim Hortons Brier after defeating Terry Odishaw 9-2 in the New Brunswick Pepsi Tankard final Sunday in Rothesay, N.B.
Kennedy jumped out to a 4-0 lead scoring a deuce in the first and earning single steals in two and three in a battle between Moncton-based teams. Odishaw settled for a single in four. Kennedy blanked five, scored four in the sixth and stole another point in seven.
Team Kennedy earned the direct bye to the final posting a perfect 7-0 record through the round robin.
Odishaw scored a six-ender in the ninth to beat Rick Perron, also of Moncton, 10-5 in Saturday’s semifinal.
That’s three in a row for Steve Laycock.
Laycock earned his third consecutive SaskTel Tankard title defeating Shaun Meachem 6-4 in Sunday’s final.
Laycock scored a deuce in the second end and stole one in the third. The teams alternated singles in four and five. Meachem gave up a steal in seven and scored a deuce in eight to narrow the gap.
Meachem defeated Josh Heidt of Kerrobert 5-1 during Sunday morning’s semifinal and now faces double defending champion Steve Laycock for the championship.
Laycock made it straight through to the final with an 8-2 win over Heidt in the A vs. B page playoff Saturday night.
Laycock also won three provincial titles playing with Pat Simmons as he looks to make a sixth appearance in the Tim Hortons Brier.
Meanwhile, Meachem beat Brent Gedak of Estevan 6-4 in the C vs. C game.
The 2016 Tim Hortons Brier runs March 5-13 in Ottawa.
Team | Skip |
---|---|
Canada | Pat Simmons |
Alberta | Playdowns: Feb. 10-14 |
BC | Playdowns: Feb. 10-14 |
Manitoba | Playdowns: Feb. 10-14 |
New Brunswick | Mike Kennedy |
Newfoundland & Labrador | Brad Gushue |
Northern Ontario | Playdowns: Feb. 10-14 |
Northwest Territories | Jamie Koe |
Nova Scotia | Jamie Murphy |
Nunavut | Wade Kingdon |
Ontario | Glenn Howard |
PEI | Adam Casey |
Quebec | Jean-Michel Menard |
Saskatchewan | Steve Laycock |
Yukon | Bob Smallwood |
Pre-qualifying round: NWT, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, and Yukon