Kootenay Savings Super League started its playoff on Thursday highlighted by a dramatic 10th end upset win for the seventh-seed.
Super League teams were seeded one to eight according to their final placing in the regular-season Super League standings (rankings in brackets).
Nichol (2) vs Maglio Men’s (7)
In the biggest and only upset of the night, seventh seeded Maglio Men’s foursome knocked off the number two Nichol rink in a thrilling 7-6 victory.
Maglio’s took one in the fourth to move into an early 3-1 lead. With the possibility of an upset looming, however, Team Nichol’s third Rick Brown made a straight back double in the fifth, to give Myron a lift, setting up a three ender.
In the sixth, Maglio Mens decided to take one instead of blanking, tying the game at 4-4, then came right back with Beauchamp making a perfect hit and roll behind cover, to steal two. Team Nichol took one in the eighth, then stole a single in the ninth to tie the game at six when Beauchamp missed on his chip for three.
With hammer in the 10th, skip Beauchamp kept the end clean, giving Nichol no chance to bury a rock. He then threw an open hit and stick to count one for a 7-6 shocker, knocking Nichol out of the A Event.
5N Plus (1) vs Maglio Ladies (8)
The top-seed 5N Plus took on eighth seeded Maglio Ladies and closed out the match in predictable fashion with a steal in the seventh for an 11-4 victory.
The Zone 1 and 2 men’s representative started quickly with a draw for two in the first, then a steal of one in the second. Ladies interim skip Lee Bedard made a delicate come around double raise to the four foot for one in the third, and was poised to take control in the fourth.
With two Ladies rocks buried, 5N Plus skip Deane Horning showed why he still is one of the best skips in the province with a long, raise take-out through a narrow port on his first shot, then a cross-ice double on his last rock to lay four to make it 7-1.
Undaunted, Bedard came right back with another delicate shot in the fifth, an angle in/off to just squirt Horning’s second shot out of the four foot, and roll in for three. But Bedard racked on a guard attempting a come around tap in the sixth, allowing Horning to seal it with a challenging split for three.
Schmidt (4) vs Fines (5)
Fourth seeded Team Schmidt and fifth seed Team Fines tangled for the second week in a row. Fines held a 3-2 lead after four, as skip Ken Fines was able to draw around guards to the button, in three of the first four ends. But the magic left him in the fifth and sixth ends, rubbing the guard and sitting open, skip Desiree Schmidt made an easy hit and stay for three in the fifth, then racking again in the sixth for a Schmidt steal of two.
Fines got one back in the sixth, then looked to be stealing in the eighth before the unflappable skip Desiree made a miraculous triple raise take-out to lay three for a fist-pumping 10-4 win.
Ferguson (3) vs Albo (6)
Third seed Team Ferguson battled sixth seed Team Albo, in a well-contested match that saw Albo keep it close despite scoring in just three of the 10 ends. It took a steal of one in the 10th end to seal the Ferguson win. Albo jumped out to an early 4-2 lead thanks to a three spot in the fourth end. But
Ferguson battled back with an easy tap for two in the fifth, then stole singles in the sixth and seventh for a 6-4 lead.
Albo seized opportunity in the eighth whe he made an outside come around tap for three and a 7-6 lead with two ends to play. Albo looked to be stealing one in the ninth, before his last rock guard was heavy, coming into the house and setting up a Ferguson double to suddenly count two. With Albo’s first rock in the 10th, and the same rock path as the eighth end, he made an outside come around draw through a narrow port to the back of the four foot, but this time, Ferguson followed perfectly, through the same port, and freezing in front of Albo’s shot stone that Darrin couldn’t duplicate, giving Team Ferguson a steal of one and an exciting 9-7 win.
Playoff action continues tonight at 7 p.m. at the Trail Curling Club.