Local OPP officer Scott Gobeil and his rink will be off to Hamilton next month to face off against fellow officers from across Canada after capturing the 2004 Manitoba Police Curling Championship title late yesterday afternoon.
Gobeil, along with third Dave Priestly and second Scott Bell, both of the Winnipeg City Police, and lead Dennis Smith of the Thunder Bay OPP, beat the Don Nelson rink 6-4 in 10 ends in yesterday’s final at the Grain Exchange Curling Club in Winnipeg.
“Everything went [according] to plan,” Gobeil said via telephone from Winnipeg, noting they were up by five after the fifth end.
After Gobeil blanked the first end, he scored a deuce in the second and then stole one in the third. After the fourth was blanked, they stole two more in the fifth to go up 5-0.
But Nelson battled back, scoring one in the sixth and stealing another in the seventh to make it 5-2.
Then after he held Gobeil to just a single in the eighth end, Nelson scored his deuce with the hammer in the ninth to make it 6-4. But Gobeil then ran him out of rocks in the 10th to seal the win.
“It was a tough game,” said Nelson, who had lost 8-5 to Gobeil in the first playoff round Monday in a match between the top team in each pool.
That win gave Gobeil a berth in the final while Nelson was forced to play the winner of the playoff game between the two second-place finishers from each pool earlier yesterday.
That happened to be the Tyson Langrell rink, whom Nelson dumped 10-3 in eight ends to earn a rematch against Gobeil in the final.
Gobeil cruised through pool play with a perfect 3-0 record, opening action Sunday with a 6-4 win over Langrell before thumping the Cann rink 6-1 in just five ends later that day.
Gobeil then beat the Dennison rink 7-4 in seven ends Monday to earn top spot in Group 2 and a playoff showdown against Nelson—the top rink from Group 1 after round-robin play.
Although a veteran in regional curling circles, Gobeil noted that overall the competition in the three-day, eight-rink championship was “pretty tough,” and was thrilled to come out on top.
“I’ve been to the [police] nationals eight times for Northern Ontario, but this is my first year in the Manitoba police championships,” said Gobeil, adding this was the first year Northern Ontario didn’t hold a provincial championship.
“I’m from Manitoba, and in some way, I’ve always wanted to wear a buffalo jacket,” he laughed.
This bonspiel was open to all police curlers in Manitoba and an area extending 300 miles east of Thunder Bay.
Gobeil added he’s hopeful his rink can bring home the trophy from the nationals after coming so close last year with a second-place finish behind Alberta.
The 49th-annual Canadian Police Curling Championship is slated March 13-20 at the Glendale Golf and Country Club in Hamilton.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
