THE CANADIAN PRESS
SPRUCE GROVE, Alta. — Randy Ferbey made Kevin Koe look ordinary with a convincing 7-4 win in the B final in the Alberta provincial curling championship Friday.
Ferbey will face Kevin Martin in the A-B winners game on Saturday, with the winner moving on to Sunday’s final.
While Ferbey has looked as sharp as he did earlier this decade in racking up five straight Alberta titles, Koe’s game seems to have taken a step backwards this week.
"This is about as bad as weve played in a long time," said Koe. "Tomorrow’s a new day and hopefully, we can pick it up. If not, we’re not going to be doing much damage here."
Koe needs to run off four straight wins, including Saturday’s C Event final against Kurt Balderston, to claim his first Alberta crown. The other C final features Calgary’s Terry Meek against James Pahl.
"We’re just struggling with draw weight and we have been all week," said Koe. "We probably threw three or four through that game. It comes down to that. We got a little fooled early. I thought the ice was curling a bit more, but even then we weren’t that sharp."
When last rock Blake MacDonald rolled the wrong way on an open hit and gave up a steal of one in the second end against Ferbey for a 3-0 deficit, the result seemed inevitable.
Even though Koe fought back, a three-ender in five put Ferbey ahead 6-2 and sealed the deal.
"If you don’t have the draw weight, you don’t have confidence," said Koe. "We’re just not throwing with a lot of confidence on our draws. Well have a couple of beers in the bar and hopefully that will improve our touch tomorrow."