Staff
Northern Ontario didn’t so much make life difficult for itself as its cross-provincial rival made it difficult for them.
Wayne Tuck and his Ontario rink blasted Northern Ontario’s team of Stratton siblings Trevor Bonot at skip and Jackie McCormick at third along with Thunder Bay’s Kory and Megan Carr 8-3 in six ends earlier today in the championship pool of the 2017 Canadian mixed curling championship in Yarmouth, N.S.
Ontario did most of their damage in two ends, countering singles by Northern Ontario in the first and third ends with a pair of four-enders in the second and fourth.
Bonot decided on going the handshake route after a single in the sixth.
The win kept Ontario (9-0) in first place ahead of skip Brady Scharback and Saskatchewan (8-1), with the two teams meeting later today to decide top spot.
While those two have clinched spots in the semifinals tomorrow, the same cannot be said for the other three teams fighting over the two remaining berths.
Northern Ontario (7-2) is currently third and can move on to tomorrow’s final four by defeating skip Charlie Sullivan and New Brunswick (6-3) this afternoon.
But a New Brunswick win coupled with a victory for skip Braden Calvert and Manitoba (6-3) over two-time national mixed champion Paul Flemming and Nova Scotia (3-6) would put Northern Ontario, New Brunswick and Manitoba at 7-3.
With all three having defeated each other in head-to-head competition, it will come down to literally a matter of inches.
During the week before every game, each team has had two players throw a draw to see who would be closest to the button.
The winner received last rock advantage for the game, while the combined distances for each team were recorded to be tabulated throughout the week.
In this possible three-way tiebreaking scenario, the team with the smallest combined distance for the week would be granted third place.
Fourth place would then be decided based on the head-to-head matchup between the other two teams.
Northern Ontario defeated Manitoba 9-4 on Wednesday, while Manitoba doubled New Brunswick yesterday 6-3.
Bonot and his crew had a strong day yesterday, defeating Nova Scotia 6-2 and then downing Adam Boland and Newfoundland and Labrador (3-6) by a 6-1 count.
The semifinals take place tomorrow morning at 8 a.m. Central Time, with the gold and bronze-medal finals set for 12:30 p.m.
