Muskie rink tripped up by hot skips

Sometimes it is just not meant to be.
The Muskie boys’ curling team ran into a pair of hot skips at the all-Ontario playdowns last week in Mississauga and failed to advance past the round-robin portion.
The rink—comprised of skip David Kaun, third Mike Badiuk, second Sean Murray, lead Travis Showalter, and alternate Ben Robinson—finished with a 2-2 record in their four draws in Pool ‘B.’
“We ran into two guys that pulled off some big shots during games that got us behind the eight-ball,” head coach Tom Fry remarked.
“We managed to stay with them, but couldn’t get back and pull ahead.”
Despite not advancing to the quarter-finals, both Fry and Kaun were pleased with the team’s performance.
“They performed very well,” Fry enthused. “Our skill level was definitely up there with any team down there. Our shooting ability was top-notch.”
“It was a lot of fun,” added Kaun.
“I think all the guys got a lot of experience playing in it [OFSAA] and now the few that are staying back are gung-ho to get it going next year,” he remarked.
The Muskie rink should remain a competitive force next season as the entire team is slated to return except for the graduating Kaun—a fact that has Fry excited.
“It looks good for next year, it really does,” he commented. “We have a couple of young guys coming up that look pretty good, too.
“I think it is going to be a very good year.”
For Kaun, this year’s OFSAA experience was somewhat bittersweet.
One the one hand, he was disappointed to not qualify for the medal round in his final year of high school curling. But on the other, he’s eager to move on to his next challenge.
“I wish I would have performed better but that’s the way she goes,” he lamented. “But, I can’t wait to go away to university and play on a university team now.”
Kaun hopes to make the Wilfred Laurier Golden Hawks’ curling team when he begins his studies there this fall.
< *c>Muskies v. Panthers
The Muskies opened action Wednesday morning with an 8-1 victory over the Pope John Paul II C.S. Panthers.
The Muskies got off to a great start, scoring three in the first end.
After the second end was blanked, the Panthers scored a single in the third to make it 3-1.
But it was all Fort High after that, scoring a deuce in the fourth end before stealing one in the fifth for a 6-1 lead.
The teams shook hands after Kaun stole two more in the eighth end.
Despite earning the lopsided victory, Kaun was not pleased with his team’s play.
“The first game we played, we didn’t play very well,” he said. “We just came out of that game kind of lucky and beat them.”
< *c>Muskies v. Stampeders
It was a different story, however, in their afternoon draw against the Parkside C.I. Stampeders.
Kaun gave up a four-ender in the first, but then battled back with a deuce in the second to make it 4-2.
Parkside responded with a deuce in the third, held Kaun to a single point in the fourth, and then added another deuce in the fifth for a commanding 8-3 lead.
Fort High opted to shake hands after only managing a single in the sixth end to make the final score 8-4.
“We had a rough first end where we gave up four and after that, we were fighting to get back,” Kaun said afterwards.
“We did a couple of times, but the other skip played it smart, kept it clean, and wouldn’t let us get more than two. He played well.”
< *c>Muskies v. Lancers
Fort High began play on day two of the competition Thursday morning with a 7-6 come-from-behind victory over the Loyalist Lancers.
After the first two ends were blanked, Loyalist scored one in the third. Kaun responded with a deuce in the fourth and then stole three in the fifth to lead 5-1.
But the Lancers did not roll over, scoring a pair in the sixth and then a three-ender of their own in the seventh to grab a 6-5 lead heading into the final end.
Kaun then scored a deuce with the hammer in the eighth and final end to pull out the victory.
“I was actually sick during the game,” Kaun said.
“We all played really well. We just stuck to our game and put them away,” he added. “Their skip was shooting well but we just took over.”
< *c>Muskies v. Haliburton
The Muskies then were eliminated from further contention when they were defeated 6-4 by Haliburton Highlands S.S. on Thursday afternoon.
Haliburton jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first but Kaun responded with a single in the second.
Haliburton scored three in the third to make it 4-1, but Kaun battled back with a deuce in the fourth to draw within one.
Haliburton regained their three-point margin with a deuce of their own in the fifth, then held Kaun to a single in the sixth to lead 6-4.
Kaun blanked the seventh end with the hammer, but then ran out of rocks in the eighth to end his hopes of advancing to the quarter-finals.
After the game, Kaun credited his opponents with playing a strong game.
“The other team, they had a solid team but the skip shot incredible,” he remarked. “He just outshot me 10 to 1. He was making everything.
“I didn’t have a problem losing that way,” Kaun added. “It wasn’t a good way to end it but it was fair. I didn’t have a problem with it.”