Sweepers in full playoff action in King Curling Club

March 20, 2013 · 0 Comments

By Shellee Morning
“We should have picked the yellow rocks,” Skip Nancy McCarron said after the first game in the Wednesday night league playoff round.
McCarron and her squad were raring to go for their first match against the team of Wilf Robinson, especially after watching a spectacular week of curling at the Men’s Brier Championships on TV.
Excited to try out some of their own “specialty shots,” like they had watched during the Brier, the McCarron team had high hopes for the first game in their playoff race for the title. The first end went according to plan for McCarron using the red rocks, as her front end of Doug and Teresa Shorthill, along with Clay Jackson, set up the house for their skip to earn a point.
Playing with the yellow rocks, Robinson and his team of Barry Glen, Janice Gervais and Shelly Courneya had playoff plans of their own.
With the hammer in the second end, Robinson’s team used strategy and great sweeping to claim the end and the go-ahead point. McCarron, feeling like they were still in the game, tried to gain control of the house, but allowed Robinson a steal in the third and the confidence to keep the rhythm going in his favour. A couple of close ends followed, with multiple rocks in play, allowing both skips to pretend they were Glen Howard and throw to the button for the chance of a dramatic finish. Robinson, a veteran skip known for his calm demeanour, guided his team brilliantly through each end, taking control of the rings and silently moving up the score board. Taking seven ends to complete the job at hand, team Robinson sealed the victory point and claimed the 7-4 win in the game.
The Groen versus Welch game would have been one of those TSN highlighted games we watch on the sports channel; full of high risk shots and a turning point that would have made any top ranked curler on the circuit proud.
Kaye Groen and her team of Teresa Laronde, and Ray and Margaret Martin fell behind quickly 6-0 after only two ends to Skip Chris Welch and his troops of Mario Parete, Mike O’Hara and Melody Duggan. The five-point steal by Welch in the second took the brush right out of the Groen brooms, setting the team back. They clearly needed to re-group and re-bound fast if they wanted any chance at this game. Gaining five points between the next two ends then another three to take the lead certainly ranks as one of the biggest turn-around games in King’s young curling history.
With the exception of a three-rock removal in the sixth and getting a point back by Welch, Groen’s crawl to the top could have had an even greater success to the story. Allowing the Welch team to win only three ends in total, after a remarkable head-turning opening, Groen clearly took over the rings and the game. The final score was 9-5 for Lady Kaye and the gang, after her impressive guard-raise to freeze for shot rock in the last end, which Skip Welch was unable to eliminate.
Welch commented afterwards that he hopes for a re-match as he believes his team now has the Groen team figured out.
Youngest curler
wins Rock Star award
Six-year-old Davis Forrest, who is a member of King’s Little Rocks program, may be the youngest curler, but he is the biggest star this week.
Davis is being awarded the “Rock Star of the week” for his practice and determination from hogging his rocks to placing them in the house. Davis’s comes each week with enthusiasm and a willing to learn. Way to go Davis.
Giulian Spizzirri has been assisting new Little Rockers with their position and delivery. He has mastered the ability to play all positions this season and can sweep his team mates stones into the house and position called. His award for the Rock Star of the week comes from demonstrating excellent team work. Congratulations Giulian.
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