Carruthers now facing elimination in curling championship

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This article was published 11/02/2016 (2989 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

SELKIRK — Defending champion Reid Carruthers has his back to the wall here at the Manitoba men’s curling championship after a stunning 9-7 loss Friday morning to Granite’s Scott Ramsay.

Trailing 7-5 coming home in the 10th end, Ramsay used the final rock of the game to author a triple takeout for a game-winning four-ender and the walkoff victory.

The win advances Ramsay’s eighth-seeded foursome to the playoff round, which begins at 7:45 p.m. tonight.

Carruthers, on the other hand, is now in a must-win situation, facing elimination and needing to win a B-side qualifier against Hayden Forrester at 4 p.m. Friday afternoon if he is going to continue his title defence.

Carruthers blamed himself for the loss, saying he never should have left Ramsay the shot he did. “We were tight for time, but it’s no excuse. It was a dumb call, left him a shot and he made it.

“So now we regroup.”

And what’s the plan for the rest of the day for the Ramsay foursome, an easy-going bunch who pride themselves on an old-school to the sport? “We’ll probably sit around for a bit, have a couple of beers and then see what happens tonight,” said Ramsay.

The other three A-side qualifiers Friday morning unfolded according to form — second seed Mike McEwen defeated Dennis Bohn 5-3; third seed Willie Lyburn defeated Matt Dunstone 7-6; and fourth seed Daley Peters defeated Alex Forrest 6-3.

Friday afternoon’s other three B-side qualifying games will see Dunstone face Taylor McIntyre, Forrest play Steve Irwin and David Bohn play Dennis Bohn.

The all-Bohn matchup is a rematch of Thursday’s game between the identical twin brothers — won by Dennis — and marks the sixth time the brothers have faced each other in what is the first ever season they have curled on separate teams.

The eight-team playoff round will play down to a four-team page-playoff championship round, which begins Saturday evening.

The 1 vs 2 game will air live on Sportsnet One Saturday evening at 6 p.m.. The semifinal will air on Sportsnet West Sunday at 9 a.m., while the final will air at 2 p.m., also on Sportsnet West.

paul.wiecek@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @PaulWiecek