ALBERTON
John Likely scored his only deuce of the game Thursday at the Western Community Curling Club and it couldn’t have come at a better time. He entered the final end of the P.E.I. Tankard provincial men’s curling championship’s ‘A’ qualifier trailing Jamie Newson by one point but with the all-important last rock advantage.
It was then Likely and his team of Anson Carmody, mate, Steve Burgess, second and Matthew Nabuurs, lead, scored their deuce for a 6-5 victory.
The Likely rink, which lists the Charlottetown Curling Complex and the host Western club as their home club, now drops into the ‘B’ qualifier semi-final where they will play PE.I. Junior champion Tyler Smith in this evening’s 7 p.m. draw. Smith scored one with hammer in the last end for an 8-6 win over Darren Higgins Thursday morning, pushing the Silver Fox rink to the brink of elimination sporting a 0-2 record in the modified tripe knock-out competition.
Defending men’s champ Eddie MacKenzie from the Charlottetown Curling Complex put another Summerside rink on notice, his 8-4 win over Steve van Ouwerkerk drops van Ouwerkerk to 0-2. The 0-2 teams don’t return to action until Friday’s 2 p.m. draw.
Today’s other ‘B’ Qualifier will feature a rematch of one of the games from the opening men’s draw with Newson facing MacKenzie. Newson won the opener 8-7 in an extra end.
With the men’s Tankard and the P.E.I. Scotties provincial women’s curling championship both being played in Alberton, the focus shifts to the women for today’s 2 p.m. draw with Melissa Morrow from Silver Fox meeting Veronica Smith from Cornwall in the women’s ‘A’ qualifier. Also on the draw will be the first games toward’s the ‘B’ qualifier of the triple knock-out competition, one being a match between two Charlottetown teams skipped by Lisa Jackson and Chloé McCloskey while Sarah Fullerton’s Charlottetown/Silver Fox rink will meet Montague’s Tammy Dewar.
Two men’s games and one women’s game are on the evening draw.
At stake:
Six men’s teams and seven women’s teams are playing modified triple knock-out championships. The winning women’s rink will represent P.E.I. at the National Scotties Feb. 16 to 24 in Sydney, NS, and the men’s champion will head off to the Tim Hortons Brier in Brandon, Manitoba March 2 to 10.