THUNDER BAY – The playoff picture is set in the Tbaytel Major League of Curling.
Two-time Scotties Tournament of Hearts runner-up Krista McCarville on Wednesday night clinched the eighth and final berth, knocking off Denis Malette’s squad 8-2 at Port Arthur Curling Centre, guaranteeing her team a berth in the championship round.
McCarville improved to 9-5-0-2, good for 29 points, giving her a three-point cushion over Bryan Burgess with one week to play. Teams get three points for a win, two points for an overtime win, one point for an overtime loss and no points for a regulation loss.
The best Burgess can do, after Wednesday night’s 7-4 win over Robyn Despins, is tie McCarville for eighth place.
The first tiebreaker is regulation wins and Burgess can finish with no more than nine, the number McCarville is currently at.
The second tie-breaker is head-to-head.
McCarville won their only matchup of the season, beating Burgess 7-3 on Nov. 6.
“It’s a very tough league and knowing that we are in playoffs is nice, because we want more games. We want as much ice time as we possibly can and playing against all these teams here, the best in Thunder Bay, is always fun,” McCarville said.
It took just three ends for McCarville to take control of the game.
Curling with lead Sarah Potts, second Jonathon Vellinga and third Ashley Sippala, McCarville was left with a hit-and-stick for five, which she made, giving her a 5-1 lead she’d never relinquish.
Team Malette skip Mike Pozihun got one back in the fourth, but McCarville and company put it away with three in the fifth to ensure they’ll be in the top half of the playoff draw.
In other action, Zach Warkentin moved one step closer to the No. 1 seed, with an 8-1 win over the first-year team skipped by Claire Dubinsky, and can claim top spot with a win next week over McCarville. Trevor Bonot wrapped up regular season play with a 6-5 win over Ron Rosengren, leaving him tied with Warkentin for first place, with two more regulation wins.
Al Hackner and Brian Adams Jr. are also in the hunt for first.
Hackner, with 38 points, is alone in third after doubling up Ben Mikkelsen 6-3, one point ahead of Adams, who blanked Rob Skinner 6-0.
Also in the championship round are Rosengren, Dylan Johnston, who defeated Ashley Palmer 7-1 to eliminate her team from championship round contention.
Burgess, Palmer, Myles Stevens, Malette, Mikkelsen, Despins, Chris Silver and Dubinsky have locked up the eight spots in the consolation round.
Action wraps up next Wednesday at PACC, with playoffs scheduled for Feb. 1.
