Bonot tied for second at junior playdowns

Maybe you can’t go home again, but you can do well to represent your old stomping grounds.
So goes the tale for Stratton native Trevor Bonot, now based out of Thunder Bay, who is in a four-way tie for second place at the eight-team Northwestern Ontario Curling Association junior boys’ playdowns in Geraldton.
Bonot, who is representing the Stratton Curling Club at the playdowns while being coached by his mother, June, is the only one on the rink with roots in this area.
The rest of his team, including third Jarred Meadows, second Daryl Gorman, and lead Tyler Stewart, all are from the Thunder Bay area.
Bonot opened play yesterday afternoon with a 6-4 win over Taylor Kallos (Fort William), with a two-ender in the eighth being the key to victory.
In the second draw last night, Bonot fell behind 5-0 after two ends, but scored four in the third and then had back-to-back threeenders in the seventh and eighth ends to top Eric Theriault (Terrace Bay) 11-9.
A battle of unbeaten rinks did not go Bonot’s way this morning, however, as he was beaten 9-4 by David Carr (Port Arthur).
Carr broke a 3-3 tie with a deuce in the sixth. Bonot scored one in the seventh, but Carr responded with two in the eighth and a steal of two in the ninth to seal the win.
Carr sits in first place with a 3-0 mark, while Bonot is at 2-1 along with Theriault, Kallos, and Mathew Dupuis (Nipigon).
Meanwhile, it hasn’t been a pleasant adventure so far for Fort Frances skip Adam Bolen as his rink dropped their first two games yesterday before rebounding with a win this morning.
Bolen and his team of third Brendon Loney, second Jason Pattison, and lead David Kaun opened with an 8-5 loss to Theriault yesterday afternoon.
Theriault stole two in the second to go up 3-0 before Bolen scored singles in the third and fourth to trim the advantage to one.
But the Terrace Bay rink struck for three in the fifth, and Bolen would get no closer than two points the rest of the way—shaking hands after nine ends of the scheduled 10-end game.
Then in the evening draw against Kallos, Bolen was in good shape after four ends with a 2-0 lead thanks to singles in the third and fourth.
But Kallos tied it up with a deuce in the fifth, then stole another pair in the sixth to move ahead 4-2.
Bolen managed a single in the seventh, but a single in eight and a steal of two in the ninth for Kallos made it 7-3, which had Bolen calling it quits early for the second-straight game.
With Dupuis’ previously undefeated Nipigon rink staring him in the face this morning, Bolen didn’t blink and cruised to an 8-3 win.
Trailing 1-0 after two, Bolen scored one in the third, then stole two in the fourth and another in the fifth to go up 4-1.
After Dupuis posted a single in the sixth, Bolen busted the game wide open with a threeender in the seventh before trading singles in the eighth and ninth to end the contest.
Bolen is alone in sixth place at 1-2, ahead of the winless teams of Mike Frostiak (Red Lake) and the host team from Geraldton, whose skip’s name was unavailable at press time.
Bonot and Bolen played again this afternoon (no scores were available by press time), then will hit the ice again tonight.
They also will play three games tomorrow.
Meanwhile, the six-team junior girls’ playdowns began this morning at the Keewatin Curling Club, with three draws set for today and two more tomorrow.
Fort Frances is represented by skip Amy Nielson, third Kate Bondett, second Krystal Windigo, and lead Jenna Enge. The team opened play this morning, with the outcome unavailable by press time.
The winners from both the boys and girls’ competitions will advance to the provincials Jan.
15-18 in Sudbury.