Thrilling finishes highlighted the Kootenay Savings Super League on Thursday, with a couple matches going down to the last rock.
Team Rob Ferguson took on Team Myron Nichol in a game played close to the vest early on. Tied 1-1 after three, the game shifted in Ferguson’s favour with steals in the fourth, fifth and sixth ends for a 5-1 lead.
Myron chipped away with singles in the seventh, eighth, and ninth ends to be one down coming home without the hammer. With his last rock, Myron drew around the front guards, biting the four foot, but leaving a quarter of the rock showing. Ferguson calmly picked it out to take one and preserve the victory.
Team Ken Fines faced off against Team Castlegar Hyundai, who had Russ Beauchamp skipping and throwing third rocks for missing James McKenzie, and third Rob Norbert throwing skips rocks.
The game was tied 5-5 after Fines made a delicate come around tap for three in the fifth, but Fines racked on the front guards in the sixth, giving Norbert a free draw for four.
The teams traded deuces over the seventh and eighth, then Castlegar Hyundai put the game away in the ninth when Fines hit and rolled too far, giving up a steal of three, and a Castlegar Hyundai win.
The Junior Boys, with Justin Umperville at the helm, had Team Deane Horning on the ropes early with some good team play, and some even better individual shot making. The Junior Boys stole two in the first, forcing Horning to take one in the second, then ran off four double take-outs and two long raise take-outs in the third, fourth , fifth, sixth, and seventh ends by Umperville and third Spencer Soukeroff to kill each end Horning had building, and a crowd-pleasing 6-3 lead.
Umperville made a come-around tap in the eighth, but rolled too far, allowing Horning an open hit for two, cutting the lead to one, before stealing the ninth to tie the game.
The 10th end unravelled for the Junior Boys, as Horning had 5 rocks in the house, all guarded when Umperville came to throw his last rock. For the second week in a row, his draw game let him down. This time his last rock was a little heavy, just missing the right angle to raise his own stone. Although his raised rock cut Horning down to only one, but one was all either team needed, as Horning escaped with a 7-6 win.
Kootenay Savings Super League curls out of the hack again on Thursday at the Trail Curling Club at 7 p.m.