THUNDER BAY – Brian Adams Jr. made quick and easy work of Trevor Bonot to capture his first Tbaytel Major League of Curling crown as a skip.
Adams, lead Joel Adams, second Colin Koivula and third Mark Koivula, dispatched of the former Canadian Mixed Curling champion Bonot in just five ends, scoring three in the second and three in the fourth before stealing a pair and shaking hands on Sunday afternoon at the Port Arthur Curling Club.
The veteran skip, who returned to Major League this year after living away from Thunder Bay for more than a decade, said Sunday’s 8-1 triumph capped off a fantastic season for the foursome, who look to carry the momentum into this week’s Northern Ontario men’s play-downs in Kenora.
“It feels great,” he said. “It’s my first Major League title as a skip, so it’s awesome.”
Adams Jr. was the third on John Salo’s 2005-06 championship team, and lost the 2007-08 final as a skip to Jeff Currie’s winning side.
He said they started strong against Bonot and never really looked back.
“We got the hammer to start the game, we got our feet under us with a blank in the first end and we just set up the ends in two and four pretty well. There were lots of rocks in play, and we like that kind of play, and had an opportunity in each one of those ends to make a good score and we capitalized,” said Adams, who knocked off Gary Weiss 5-3 in the semifinal earlier in the afternoon.
Adams got a bit of good fortune on his final shot of the second, going for a tricky double. The shot didn’t quite do what he’d hoped, missing the double, but the veteran curler still managed to hold on for three, going up 3-0 on Bonot.
The Bonot foursome, which includes lead Kurtis Byrd, second Jordan Potts and third Mike McCarville, made a few too many mistakes on championship Sunday, despite an impressive run after defeating Denis Malette and Al Hackner to reach the finale.
Bonot flashed on his first throw of the third, then his draw just stopped in time to claim a single and cut Adams’ lead to 3-1.
Lying two with hammer, Adams Jr. found his draw weight in the fourth, adding another three to his total to jump in front 6-1 at the break.
“The ice was tricky and straight in some spots, so if you could hide a rock in the right place, you were good. In the fourth end we made a really good freeze and he didn’t have much of shot at all,” Adams said. “Rock placement was big today.”
Bonot missed again with hammer in the fifth, giving up the steal of two and the two teams decided to shake hands and get set for the long drive to Kenora, both teams in the 11-team field.
It’s a pretty good confidence boost, Adams said.
“I wish we could go right back out on the ice tomorrow in Kenora, because we’re feeling good and we’re playing well. A win like this in Major League is a great confidence boost, so we’re going to roll with that into Kenora, for sure.”
Bryan Burgess took the consolation final, downing Krista McCarville 7-2.
