Top seeds right on track

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This article was published 11/02/2016 (2996 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

SELKIRK — Mike McEwen took the shortest path possible, while Reid Carruthers took the long way around.

But however they arrived, Carruthers and McEwen are exactly where everyone thought they’d be this morning at the Manitoba men’s curling championship.

With one more win each at the Selkirk Recreation Complex this morning, McEwen and Carruthers can lock down berths in this evening’s Page playoff 1 vs. 1 game (6 p.m., Sportsnet One), where the winner advances straight to Sunday’s final (2 p.m., Sportsnet West) while the loser gets a second chance in Sunday’s semifinal (9 a.m., Sportsnet West.)

In an event where the seedings have unfolded almost exactly as expected — seven of the top eight advanced to the playoff round that began Friday night — first seed and defending champion Carruthers and the second seed and perennial challenger McEwen remain the teams to beat.

McEwen, who has lost five Manitoba finals and been tormented by this event like no other, said his team feels “lighter” right now than years past.

“We’ve done a lot of preparation off the ice to make this event feel lighter. And right now, it feels like that.

“But that’s going to be the goal and the challenge the next couple days. Because the weight is going to try and creep in on your shoulders.”

A Carruthers-McEwen final would be a rematch of last year’s final, won by Carruthers.

Carruthers had a wild Friday, losing on the morning draw when opposing skip Scott Ramsay authored a triple takeout for a game-winning four-ender on the final rock of the 10th end and then narrowly avoiding elimination Friday afternoon in what would have been a stunning loss to 18-year-old Hayden Forrester.

“That was a roller-coaster day,” Carruthers said Friday night. “We needed a good kick in the butt and hopefully that’s the last one we get this weekend.”

Forrester, whose previous claim to fame was as skip of the under-18 Optimist International champions, had a chance to send his game with Carruthers to an extra end but rolled out a hit-and-stick attempt with the last rock of the 10th end to hand Carruthers a 6-5 victory.

“All in all we exceeded our expectations this week,” said Forrester, who was supported by third Brennan Sampson, second Brett Macdonald and lead Cole Chandler. “We knew we were here to have fun. We knew we were underdogs coming in.”

McEwen, meanwhile, carries a perfect 4-0 record into today after wins on Friday over Dennis Bohn in an A-side qualifier and Canadian junior champion Matt Dunstone in the playoffs Friday night.

The only other undefeated team is Willie Lyburn, who had wins Friday over Dunstone and Dennis Bohn in the reverse order as McEwen.

McEwen plays Lyburn this morning, while Carruthers plays Alex Forrest, who comes in off an impressive 9-4 win over Ramsay Friday night. The winners advance to the 1-1 game, while the losers get a second chance this afternoon to advance to the 2-2 game.

On the B-side thismorning, Dunstone plays Bohn, while Daley Peters plays Ramsay.

All four teams on the B-side can no longer afford another loss and need to run the table if they are to represent Manitoba at the Brier.

paul.wiecek@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @PaulWiecek