Team Dunstone, which features brothers E.J. and Ryan Harnden, improved to 2-0 with a win on Sunday
For eight men’s teams from across the country, the Canadian Olympic Curling Trials are through the opening weekend of play in Halifax.
The first two days of the event, which will determine the Canadian representatives in curling at the Winter Olympics next year in Italy, have seen their share of tight games through two early draws.
Team Dunstone, which features Saultites E.J. and Ryan Harnden, opened the event with a 6-3 win Saturday night against John Epping’s Sudbury-based team.
With the game tied at three, Dunstone blanked a pair of ends before scoring two to take a 5-3 lead in the ninth end, then sealed the win with a steal of one in the final end.
Dunstone called the win in Saturday’s opener “a classic Dunstone game.”
“Don’t get hammer to start, get a steal, control the scoreboard the rest of the way,” Dunstone added, speaking with Curling Canada. “That’s the DNA of our team and that showed up tonight.”
Team Jacobs, skipped by Sault Ste. Marie’s Brad Jacobs, opened their tournament with a 6-5 loss to Calgary-based Kevin Koe on Saturday.
The teams traded scores throughout before Jacobs blanked the ninth end to hold onto the hammer for the final end, which saw Koe steal one to pick up the win.
On Sunday, Dunstone moved to 2-0 thanks to an 8-4 win over Winnipeg’s Jordon McDonald.
With the game tied at four, Dunstone pulled ahead with three in the ninth end before capping the win with a steal of one in the final end.
“We just stuck with it,” Dunstone third Colton Lott told Curling Canada. “We had a hiccup, but just kept capitalizing and putting pressure on them.”
Sunday’s action saw the Jacobs rink move to 1-1 thanks to an extra-end win over Saskatoon’s Rylan Kleiter.
Kleiter scored a pair in the 10th end to force the extra before Jacobs made a tough double to remove a pair of Kleiter rocks in the extra end, picking up a 5-4 win in the process.
“Kleiter and the boys played us tough,” Jacobs told Curling Canada. “That was a great test for us, and that’s how we expect this entire week to go.”
Jacobs added that, after taking some time following the loss in the opener, he told his teammates “that loss was entirely on me.”
“I was just not good in that first game,” Jacobs added. “But sometimes those types of losses can be the best thing for you.”
Jacobs is on the ice for a pair of games on Monday as well, facing Mike McEwen in the morning draw before capping the day with a game against McDonald in the evening draw.
Also playing a pair of games on Monday, the Dunstone rink is scheduled to face Kleiter in the morning draw and Brad Gushue in the evening.
Round-robin play in the tournament runs through Wednesday.
The top three teams in the standings on both the men’s and women’s sides will advance to the playoff round.
The top teams advance directly to the best-of-three final, while the second- and third-place teams meet in semifinal play Thursday.
