Lucas Punkari
It was a tightly-contested affair that came down to the last shot. And when it mattered the most, the skip came through.
Thanks to a clutch draw to the four-foot with his final stone, Raymond Roy captured the 2012 Fort Frances men’s bonspiel title with a 7-6 win over Lorne Jackson on Saturday night.
“It feels really good to win it, especially with a shot like that at the end,” Roy said.
“I thought both teams played really well, and it was a great game to finish off a great weekend,” he added.
After running through the ‘A’-event Friday and Saturday, Roy and his rink, which included third Mark Broman, second Butch Wensley, and lead Patrick Briere, were in tough against Jackson, who also had yet to lose a game.
“It was the best game of the week for us, and it made for a game worthy of a final,” Roy noted.
“We traded three-enders in the third and fourth ends but that was because of some great shot-making, especially by Lorne in the third as he made a great run-back double take-out,” he recalled.
“For us to get those three points back and tie the game up at four in the fourth end was a key for us as that kept us in the game,” he stressed.
The Jackson rink, which included third Todd Moxham, second Cory Labbe, and lead Jeff Cross, trailed 6-5 in the seventh but had a chance to reclaim the lead with Jackson already sitting one in the house prior to his final shot.
But a draw that just needed to find the eight-foot for the deuce and a one-point lead came up short, resulting in Jackson only picking up a single to leave the game tied heading into the final end.
“To fall short on that draw there was disappointing,” Jackson sighed.
“But this was a game where I think it all came down to whoever had the hammer in the last end as both teams were so evenly-matched,” he added.
“In the end, that’s what it came down to.”
For the Roy rink, the men’s bonspiel was a perfect tune-up for their next big event—the Dominion Club Championship regional playdowns next month at the Keewatin Curling Club.
“After facing so many tough teams this weekend, and having to make a bunch of good shots in order to win, I think we are more than ready for that event,” Roy laughed.
Rounding out the event winners were Rick Gruttner (‘B’), Don DeBenedet (‘C’), and Dave Johnson (‘D’).
