LITTLE CURRENT, Ont. – A year ago, Team Bonot made it to Sunday at the Northern Ontario men’s curling provincial playdowns, but came up short, falling in the semifinal.
Skip Trevor Bonot said they’re hoping the momentum they’ve gained this season, including winning the Tbaytel Major League of Curling championship, will help them take the next step and launch the team into the Montana’s Brier.
They’ll be one of 14 teams vying for the title, led by 2023 champion Tanner Horgan of Sudbury and four other Thunder Bay rinks, including teams skipped by Chris Silver, Zach Warkentin, Bryan Burgess and Brian Adams Jr.
Bonot, whose team includes third Mike McCarville, second Jordan Potts and lead Kurtis Byrd, said he can feel the momentum starting to grow as Wednesday’s opening game nears.
“I think the work we’ve put in, the travelling we’ve done this season is really going to help us this week. This catapults us with some confidence going into this weekend. Hopefully we have some great ice and put some great games together,” said Bonot, looking to make his first Brier appearance.
“We got to play Sunday last year, and that was pretty nice, but we would love to play two games on Sunday. It would be even better, or at least make it to the final. We know that we have to play consistent and we think that’s what we’ve really been trying to do all season.”
Bonot said that doesn’t mean they won’t have to make some big shots along the way, but it does give them a leg up if they manage to live up to the plan.
McCarville, who curled at the 2014 Brier, said if they play like they believe they can, Team Bonot can be there in the end.
“Then it comes down to that one game,” he said.
Unlike most of the past decade-and-a-half, when Northern Ontario was dominated by Sault Ste. Marie’s Brad Jacobs, who won it all in 2013, the field is wide open in 2024, with the caveat that the revamped Team Horgan is the likely favourite to repeat.
“That’s why there’s 14 teams that have entered for the men’s,” McCarville said. “If Brad was there with his Olympic team, that went to 10 Briers in a row, if that team’s there, it’s a lot tougher feat to get to that Brier. It’s not going to be easy. Tanner Horgan is a great young team.”
Silver, who made the Major League playoffs, falling in the quarterfinal, said provincials has been the goal of his team, which includes third Owen Riches, second Connor Mangoff and lead Travis Showalter, since the foursome came together at the start of the season.
They believe they’ve got what it takes to win, or they wouldn’t have entered, Silver said.
“We wanted to go and be professionals and do as good as we could here and there,” he said. “The games where we’ve played really well together, we think we can beat any team out there. The games where we haven’t … that’s where we’ve really had some of those losses pile up. I think we’re good enough to go against any team.”
On the women’s side, 10-time provincial champion Krista McCarville will be joined by Thunder Bay’s Robyn Despins, who just missed qualifying for the Major League championship round and will be one of five teams looking to dethrone McCarville.
“We’ve been preparing and building all year. We’re a brand new team, so this year has been kind of our building time. Everything has come to a head and we’re really excited for (this) week. We feel like we’re ready,” Despins said.
Silver takes on North Bay’s Brad Minogue in Wednesday’s opener. Adams Jr. plays Sudbury’s Brendan Rajala, Bonot tangles with North Bay’s Malcolm O’Bright, Warkentin meets up with Sault Ste. Marie’s Matthew Hunt, and Burgess opens against Sudbury’s Mike Assad, who went to the 2001 Brier with Al Hackner.
Despins and McCarville will meet in the women’s opening draw on Thursday at 8 p.m.
