THUNDER BAY – Mike McCarville has guaranteed himself at least one more game at the Northern Ontario men’s curling championship.
The Thunder Bay skip took advantage of a pair of seventh-end misses by his opponent, Sudbury’s Dustin Montpellier, to score a crucial four points and went on to a 9-3 victory that sewed up at least a spot in a Saturday tiebreaker.
Depending on how things unfold in the afternoon draw, McCarville could finish solo third and earn a spot in Sunday’s semifinal against former Olympic champion Brad Jacobs.
McCarville said he had no expectations coming into the event, so making it past the round-robin feels pretty awesome.
“I’m playing with three young guys. I call them the kids, because I’m the old guy on the team. It’s my first time being a skip at the provincial level. So that’s new, and those three guys have never been in a men’s provincial before.
“We just wanted to come here, play our best game, try our hardest and try get into something in the end. That was our goal and we definitely accomplished that,” said McCarville, who captained his team to a 4-3 record at the eight-team event.
The McCarville foursome, which includes lead Travis Potter, second Zach Warkentin and third Jordan Potter, will head straight to the semifinal should Dylan Johnston knock off Trevor Bonot in their round-robin finale on Saturday afternoon.
A Bonot win would set up a Saturday night tiebreaker for the semifinal spot.
Bonot, who entered Draw 9 action with a 3-2 record, was overmatched against Jacobs, who scored two in the first with the hammer, stole singles in the second and third and two more in the fourth to build a 6-0 lead, en route to a 9-1 win and a 6-1 record.
“We got off on the wrong foot. Right from Rock 1, it seemed like nothing would go our way. We plugged away, tried to make the best of it to see if we could make shots and just learn the ice even more.
For Jacobs, the four time reigning Northern Ontario champion, it’s shaping up to be a carbon copy of last year, when Sudbury’s Tanner Horgan ran the table in the round robin, but lost in the final.
“Hopefully we can go out and play a really good semifinal. That’s all we’re really focused on right now. We’re very familiar with route to get to the Brier. We’ve actually gone this route more times than the bye straight to the final,” said Jacobs, his team finishing the round robin at 6-1.
“So it’s familiar to us and it’s never a bad thing to get out there and play.”
Horgan, who scored three in the second and three more in the sixth, knocked off Johnston 9-4, ending the Thunder Bay skip’s hopes of a return trip to the provincial playoffs after handing him his fourth loss in six outings.
Another 7-0 finish is great, he said, but it only matters if they get the job done on Sunday.
He’s confident his team, which also include lead Maxime Blais, second Jacob Horgan and third Mark Kean, has improved enough to advance to nationals.
“I think we feel better than last year. Having been there last year and going through what it’s like to play in a provincial final, with a berth to go through to the Brier, is totally different and I think this year we’re ready for it. We’re feeling comfortable. Last year we were really nervous and really uptight. This year we’re loose and we’re ready to go.”
In the fourth match of the morning, Jordan Chandler played spoiler, eliminating fellow Curl Sudbury skip with a 9-7 triumph.
