The standings tightened up in the Kootenay Savings Super League last week, showing that everyone is beatable.
Both skips were unavailable this week between Team Nathan Small, skipped by Kevin McKenzie and Team Bartlett Excavating, skipped by Rob Darrah.
Skip Darrah scored two in the second and led 3-1, when the fifth end turned in Team Small’s favour. With Team Bartlett on the ropes, facing six mostly buried, Skip Darrah made a nice draw to eliminate three stones, but Skip McKenzie made an even better draw to lay four.
Team Bartlett had a free draw for two in the sixth, but came up short, settling for one, but then stole a single in the seventh to be tied coming home without. Playing for the steal all the way, Team Bartlett ignored the build up of Team Small rocks, and when Skip Darrah’s last rock tap up came up short, Team Small walked away with a 4-ender and a 9-5 win.
Team Bill van Yzerloo and Team Brian LeMoel were missing their leads this week, resulting in a lot of extra sweeping for Alex Coutts and Devo Devine.
Team LeMoel blanked the first two ends before Skip LeMoel made a nice come around tap for a deuce in the third. van Yzerloo had a chance to tie in the fourth, but hit and rolled out, settling for a single point.
Team van Yzerloo stole two in the fourth when LeMoel’s last rock take-out clipped a guard, but rebounded with two perfect draws in the sixth for two. With a lot of rocks in play in the seventh, Sklip LeMoel attempted to thread through a tight port, but crashed and burned, allowing Skip Bill an open draw for a big three.
Everything went Team van Yzerloo’s way in the eighth, for another steal of two and an 8-4 win over the previously undefeated LeMoel.
It was a game of ones and threes between Team Darrin Albo and Team Myron Nichol. Skip Myron kept his team close with perfect draws to the button for singles in the first and third ends, but Team Albo was just outplaying its opposition on this night, allowing Skip Darrin to have open draws for three in the second and fourth ends. Skip Nichol made another nice draw for one in the fifth, then looked to be stealing the sixth with another great draw before Skip Albo snuffed out any comeback with a delicate come around tap for, you guessed it, another three.
Team Nichol finally got more than one in the seventh with a three, but it was too late, as Team Albo prevailed in a 9-6 win.
It was a defensive battle for most of the game between Team Les Lepine and Team Ken Fines, with Fines stealing one in the first after Skip Lepine just missed a double take-out.
Team Lepine manufactured a deuce in the second then held Team Fines to a single in the third. Both teams could only manage a single with their hammer advantage in the fourth and fifth ends, before Team Lepine blew the game open with a huge 5-ender in the sixth, and their first win of the year, as Team Fines conceded to the 8-3 Team Lepine win.