PORT HAWKESBURY, N.S. — It’s playoffs time at the Princess Auto Elite 10.
Jeff Stoughton skips the Elite 10 Select squad against former teammate Reid Carruthers in the quarterfinals of the Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling event Saturday. It’s a rematch of Friday night’s round robin finale where Carruthers earned a 2-up win to qualify. The winner plays John Morris later in the semifinals. Morris earned the semifinal bye with a better cumulative draw-to-the-button shootout score.
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Kevin Koe goes up against Peter de Cruz in the other quarterfinal match. Brad Jacobs awaits the victor.
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SHOOTOUT
After Benoit Schwarz misses the rings, Kevin Koe just needs to hit the house. Koe gets it — just barely — as it stops at the back of the rings. KOE 1-UP
8TH END
We’re heading to a shootout as Koe can’t get two. ALL SQUARE
7TH END
Steal denied. Carruthers gets the push to eliminate Stoughton. CARRUTHERS 2-UP
De Cruz takes the end to make it level. ALL SQUARE
6TH END
Vintage Stoughton! With an empty house and no chance to score, Stoughton performs his patented spin-o-rama shot and lands it on the back of the button. CARRUTHERS 2-UP
Koe looks at two counters and lands on the lid for a push. KOE 1-UP
5TH END
Carruthers gets another extra life (that’s a 1-up for you non-Super Mario fans) with an open hit to score. CARRUTHERS 2-UP
Light isn’t alright. Schwarz comes up short on his last and it’s just a push for Team de Cruz. KOE 1-UP
4TH END
Stoughton gets the angle raise for the push, but it’s just not enough to count two. CARRUTHERS 1-UP
A Koe kaboom puts a checkmark on the board. Koe fires a rocket to get the double takeout and count two for the end. KOE 1-UP
3RD END
Carruthers makes a perfect bump on his first skip stone and doesn’t even need to throw his last as Stoughton’s light raise doesn’t get first or second shot. CARRUTHERS 1-UP
The scoreboard stays blank with Schwarz drawing for yet another push. ALL SQUARE
2ND END
It just had to hit it. Stoughton goes for a double looking to stick the shooter and count two with another stone biting the back of the house. He makes the hit but Carruthers’s counter just so happens to collide with Stoughton’s other stone to knock it out and prevent the win. ALL SQUARE
Tap, tap, tap, whoosh. Koe tries to get the runback dominoes to go to the button and score, but doesn’t quite get the angle and it’s another push. ALL SQUARE
1ST END
Carruthers opens the rematch with the hammer, but Stoughton pours on the pressure sitting four. Carruthers makes his last though to get the push. ALL SQUARE
De Cruz also can’t capitalize with the hammer to start and fourth Benoit Schwarz pulls off a beauty triple with his first to get out of a jam. Schwarz’s last taps for a single and a push. ALL SQUARE
Explaining match play: The Princess Auto Elite 10 features a match play format where teams compete to win the most ends per game by either counting two or more rocks with hammer or stealing at least one without hammer. If the game is tied after eight ends, a draw-to-the-button shootout will determine the winner. While it’s similar to a skins format, the difference is there are no carryovers. The scoreboard indicates who is in the lead and by how many ends.
