#BetweenTheSheets: Curling
in the Club, Pumpkin Spice in Your Hand
World
Curling Tour action heats up the ice for Week 7
The first month of the curling season has hit the record
book. As we enter the month of October,
teams will no longer be concentrating on working out the kinks in their
game. Rather, teams should be focused on
moving up the rankings, winning games, qualifying for playoffs and claiming championships. From now until April 2016, expect to see
teams push hard for positioning on the rankings. Teams will want to do their best in the
non-grand slam events in hopes of earning enough qualifying points to move up
the rankings and be invited to the major #GSOC events. The curling season is not a long one,
especially in comparison to many other sports.
If teams are going to find success in their season, it starts now!
Some big teams stepped up to the challenge last week. Let’s take a quick runback takeout on week 6:
The PointOptical
Curling Classic in Saskatoon was the highlight event on the men’s
tour. Many top teams competed, including
Mike McEwen, Brad Jacobs, Nik Edin and home province favourites Steve
Laycock. #Redpants reigned supreme on
the Nutana ice once again with Team McEwen defending their 2014 championship,
besting provincial rival Reid Carruthers in the final. The home province boys didn’t disappoint
though in making the semifinal round, losing a tough match to Carruthers.
Stockholm brought the best international women’s teams to
the ice for the Stockholm Ladies Cup. Canada claimed their first champion with top
team Rachel Homan defeating Eve Muirhead in the championship. Fellow Canadian competitors Jennifer Jones
reached the SF round. Strong representation
from Sweden teams as well with 3 teams making the playoffs, highlighted by
defending champion Margaretha Sigfridsson’s rink making the SF at their first
event of the season.
In Winnipeg at the Mother
Club Fall Curling Classic, David Bohn put an end to the #DynamoDunstone
rink’s bid for a second title of the season, besting them in a tight extra end
final. Fellow junior teams JT Ryan and
Braden Calvert also made the playoffs, with Ryan’s rink losing a tough SF to
Dunstone. On the women’s side, Michelle
Montford destroyed the competition to pick up her first win of the season. Montford’s rink averaged just over 7 points
per game and included two victories over #TourChallenge champion Kerri
Einarson.
At the KW Fall
Classic in Kitchener-Waterloo, China’s Rui Liu made a big splash in his
return to competitive curling winning the title at his first event event. Liu looks ready to take the lead once again
as the top men’s team from China and compete on the world stage once more. Alison Flaxey’s team continued their hot
start to the season. Following up their
runner-up finish at the Shorty Jenkins Classic the week prior, Flaxey would
eliminate two-time defending champion Julie Hastings in the SF before besting
American Erika Brown for the title.
The Appleton Rum
Cashspiel (what a great name!) in Lower Sackville, N.S. brought some of the
top Maritime teams together. On the
men’s side, Brent MacDougall spoiled the upset bid of young Jamie Danbrook in
the final. While the women’s side saw
Theresa Breen stop the red hot Shannon Tatlock New Brunswick team in the
final. Both championship matches
showcasing experience matters with the more experienced teams outgunning the up
and coming teams.
When we look at these results and compare them to last
week’s #TwineTime predictions, not too bad of a result. The most success came in Saskatoon with
#TwineTime accurately predicting 7 of the 8 qualifying teams. This prediction included calling a title win
for McEwen and his #redpants brigade. Correctly predicting 5 of the 8 teams in
Stockholm, including Homan as champion, was another success. Honourable mention success for predicting strong
runs by Matt Dunstone, Jamie Danbrook and Alison Flaxey rinks at their events.
Based on the results noted above, will we see a shake-up in
the #PowerRankings this week? Last week
saw little movement, let’s see where teams stand heading into this week:
MEN
1)
Brad Gushue (LW: 1)
2)
Mike McEwen (3)
3)
Brad
Jacobs (2)
4)
Kevin Koe (4)
5)
Glenn Howard (5)
Hon. Mention: Team Carruthers, Team Laycock, Team Edin, Team Cotter
·
Gushue took last week off to prepare for this
week’s event across the pond in Basel, SUI.
Can’t knock him off the top rung because of inactivity when they have
been the hottest team on tour...so far.
·
#Redpants move up a spot with their championship
win, which included a victory over previous #2 ranked Brad Jacobs. Defending a title and beating a fellow power
ranking team will also move you up the rankings. Perhaps the gap between McEwen and Gushue is
smaller than before...while the gap between McEwen and Jacobs/Koe widens.
·
Carruthers, Laycock and Edin continue to push
hard towards the top of the rankings.
All three had outstanding results in ‘Toon Town, highlighted by
Carruthers run to the final. Any of
these three teams could push Howard out of the Top 5 in the coming weeks.
WOMEN
1)
Rachel Homan (LW: 1)
2)
Eve Muirhead (2)
3)
Alina Paetz (4)
4)
Jennifer Jones (HM)
5)
Silvana Tirinzoni (3)
Hon. Mention: Team Sweeting, Team Kim, Team Sigfridsson
·
Stockholm featured a final between the top two
teams on the #TwineTime power rankings...what more could you ask for. The final supported the rankings with #1
Homan beating #2 Muirhead. For now,
these two teams seem solid at the top.
·
Paetz rebounds from a tough ending to the Canada
trip with a strong QF appearance in Sweden, moving up a spot.
·
Jones apparently was very angry with #TwineTime
bumping her from the Top 5 and took it out on her opponents in Stockholm. The SF appearance, coupled with some amazing
shots for massive scoring ends, moves the Jones team up to a season-high 4th,
with my apologies for doubting the Olympic champs.
·
Tirinzoni stays in the top 5, even with her
tiebreaker loss in Sweden. The
#TourChallenge win still holds lots of weight and has them barely holding
on.
·
We have not seen Sigfridsson until this past
week, making them unable to gain ground on the rankings. Well they hit the ice finally and shot right
up to Honourable Mention. The SF
appearance at home, as defending champions, at your first event of the season
should put the top teams on notice.
Certainly put #TwineTime on notice!
Remember, if you disagree with the #TwineTime power
rankings, have your voice be heard by voting on the blog home page for the men’s team you
think should be ranked at the top.
Voting will be open for a few more weeks. Don’t worry ladies, you will get your chance
for a fan vote as well...stay tuned.
Week 7 will bring another busy week for many teams, with 4
spiels taking place on the men’s tour and 3 events on the women’s tour, with
the highlight events taking place in Basel, SUI (men) and Vernon, BC. Here we go with tour life predictions:
MEN
Swiss Cup Basel
Basel, Switzerland
2014 Champion: Tom Brewster
Format:32 team triple knockout with 8 qualifiers
Top Teams Entered: Team Gushue, Team Ulsrud, Team Murdoch,
Team Brewster, Team Casey, Team Michel
Dark Horse Candidates: There are many up and coming young
teams competing at this event. Many of
these teams most curling fans have probably never even heard of. I would pay particular attention to: Evgeniy
Arkhipov (RUS), Kyle Smith (SCO), Rasmus Wrana (SWE), Jaap van Dorp (NED) and
Sebastian Wunderer (AUT). Arkhipov is a
2013 world junior silver medallist and recently picked up a silver at the 2015
Winter University Games. Smith recently
finished 3rd at the 2015 Winter University Games and is a past world
junior champion (2013), incidentally beating Arkhipov in the final. Also pay particular attention to van
Dorp. This Dutch team lost the Group B
final to Finland’s Aku Kauste at the 2014 European Curling Championships...and
look how far Kauste went after that.
What 2 Watch 4 (W2W4): The Finnish Invasion! Is Finland back to becoming a threat on the
world stage? Last year’s surprise 4th
place finish by Finland’s Aku Kauste (#LongHairDontCare) at the world
championship could be the start of a comeback.
In Basel, we will also see the long-time face of Finnish curling Markku
Uusipaavalniemi back on the ice. The
longest name in the sport has been to 11 world championships and does own an
Olympic silver medal (2006 Turin, l. to Gushue). But yet even a 3rd team from
Finland will be in Basel with Kalle Kiiskinen completing the Finnish
trifecta. Don’t count out the
Fins....the red and white of Switzerland may turn blue and white by the end of
the weekend.
Qualifiers: Team Gushue, Team Ulsrud, Team Michel, Team Kauste, Team
Brewster, Team Arkhipov, Team van Dorp, Team Sterjne
Championship: Team
Gushue over Team Ulsrud
Prestige Hotels & Resorts Curling Classic
Vernon, B.C.
2014 Champion: Grant
Dezura
Format: 12 team triple knockout with 6 qualifiers
Top Teams Entered: Team Simmons, Team Cotter, Team Joanisse
Dark Horse Candidates: Chase Martyn could be the surprise
team of the event. The team from New
West, B.C. is coming off a runner-up finish at the Cloverdale Cash Spiel (l.
Joanisse), including wins over strong B.C. teams Grant Dezura and Brent
Pierce. This is the first season at the
skipping position for Chase and to make the final in your first event as a team
has to build confidence going into the season.
What 2 Watch 4 (W2W4): Team Canada back on the ice. Team Simmons is coming off, according to
some, a surprise repeat Canadian championship title at the 2015 Brier. Vernon will be everyone’s first opportunity
to see the back-to-back Canadian champs on the ice this season as they follow
the trend of last year by playing a minimal tour schedule. Last season the team struggled on tour with
poor results but ended up with another Canadian title. What can we expect this season? Time to find out.
Qualifiers: Team Cotter, Team Simmons, Team Morozumi, Team Clark, Team
Joanisse, Team Martyn
Championship: Team
Cotter over Team Morozumi
Avonair Cash Spiel
Edmonton, AB
2014 Champion: Soo-Hyuk Kim
Format: 20 team round robin with 8 qualifiers
Top Teams Entered: Team Kim, Team Lizmore
Dark Horse Candidates:
Everyone! Ok not everyone in this
field is considered a dark horse but there are many teams competing who have
never played in a provincial championship.
Some of these teams are brand new and some have never advanced out of
regional playdowns. Teams to perhaps
keep an eye on though would be Team Steinke, Team Erickson and Team Cooper.
What 2 Watch 4 (W2W4): Everything....this could be a total
toss-up. This event fields a relatively
inexperienced crop of teams on the world curling tour level. A solid performance this weekend in Edmonton
could be the momentum and confidence many of these teams need heading into the
season, where they will be faced with stronger opposition.
Qualifiers: Team Lizmore, Team Kim, Team White, Team Hanson, Team
O’Connor, Team Steinke, Team Erickson, Team Webb
Championship: Team
Kim over Team Lizmore
Sobeys Classic
New Glasgow, N.S.
2014 Champion: New Event
Format: 12 team round robin with 6 qualifiers
Top Teams Entered: Team Murphy, Team Stevens, Team Adams
Dark Horse Candidates: This is a bit of history repeating
but last week I mentioned Team Jamie Danbrook as my dark horse candidate and
the team made the championship final. I
am sticking with these boys this week.
Danbrook played outstanding last weekend, losing a tough final. I think they will enter this event with a ton
of confidence and momentum to build from and should be a dangerous team with a
strong chance at taking home the victory.
What 2 Watch 4 (W2W4): This really is a preview of the 2016
Nova Scotia Brier. 11 of the teams
competing are from Nova Scotia and these should be teams we see fighting it out
for the Brier purple heart. Each of
these teams will want to pay particular attention to their opposition, start
knowing the strengths and weaknesses now.
The top teams will want to build momentum while the up and coming teams
will be looking to find confidence they can hang with the big boys.
Qualifiers: Team Stevens, Team Adams, Team MacDougall, Team Murphy,
Team Danbrook, Team Kennedy
Championship: Team
Adams over Team Stevens
WOMEN
Prestige Hotels & Resorts Curling Classic
Vernon, B.C.
2014 Champion: Ayumi
Ogasawara
Format: 28 team round robin with 8 qualifiers
Top Teams Entered: Team Carey, Team Lawton, Team Einarson,
Team Scott, Team Kleibrink, Team Ogasawara, Team Jaeggi, Team Roque
Dark Horse Candidates: Corryn Brown’s Kamloops foursome
should not be underestimated heading into this event. The 20-year old has a Canadian Junior
Championship to her name (2013), a Canada Winter Games gold medal (2011) and a
bronze medal at the Winter Youth Olympic Games (2012). This team is the defending B.C. junior
champions, finishing with a bronze medal last year. Last year also saw their breakout year on
tour, where they picked up their first tour victory in early November 2014 at
the Coronation Business Group Ladies Classic in Maple Ridge, B.C.
What 2 Watch 4 (W2W4): Welcome back Cheryl Bernard! Bernard hung up her curling slider after the
2013-14 season and recently has been found providing commentary for TSN during
their Season of Champions broadcasts.
Well, this week she leaves behind the booth and grabs the broom once
again. The 2010 Olympic silver medallist
will return to competitive curling for what appears to be a one-event
opportunity. She does have fond memories
of Vernon though, winning this event in 2004, 2005 and 2010. How will she fare against some of the strong
competitive teams after being off the ice?
Qualifiers: Team Scott, Team Bernard, Team Lawton, Team Carey, Team
Ogasawara, Team Einarson, Team Roque, Team Sinclair
Championship: Team
Roque over Team Scott
Avonair Cash Spiel
Edmonton, AB
2014 Champion: Mari Motohashi
Format: 18 team round robin with 8 qualifiers
Top Teams Entered: Team J. Kaufman, Team Hamilton
Dark Horse Candidates: Rina Ida’s Japanese rink could keep
this championship in the land of the rising sun. Ida is only 23-years old and is in her
sophomore season of skipping duties. But
don’t undersell this team based on the lack of experience. In their opening event of the season, at the
Uiseong International in Uiseong, Korea, Ida made the playoffs and finished in
3rd place. Ida also was the
alternate on Ayumi Ogasawara’s Japanese team at the 2015 World Women’s Curling
Championship. She easily could be the
future of curling in Japan.
What 2 Watch 4 (W2W4):
Similar to the men’s field in Edmonton, this is a wide open spiel. Jessie Kaufman won the inaugural women’s
event here in 2013 and could be a favourite to reclaim the title. She has brought former Scotties finalist Erin
Carmody onto the team after Carmody took a year off. Carmody’s experience could lend a helping
hand as vice.
Qualifiers: Team Liu, Team Mei, Team Ida, Team J. Kaufman, Team
Hartwell, Team Hamilton, Team DeJong, Team N. Kaufman
Championship: Team
Liu over Team Ida
Sobeys Classic
New Glasgow, N.S.
2014 Champion: New Event
Format: 6 team round robin with 4 qualifiers
Top Teams Entered: Team Birt, Team Bradley
Dark Horse Candidates: Jill Brothers could be the best bet
for a home province win this weekend.
Brothers enters the event off a SF finish last weekend. This is still a rookie season for this team
but the results last weekend show lots of promise for a strong breakout
year. The addition of Sarah Murphy as
vice this season could be a lethal combination for competitors. Brothers could just become the dark horse
team not only at this event but within Nova Scotia this year.
What 2 Watch 4 (W2W4): It’s a Maritime battle: PEI vs.
NS. Which province will come out on
top? PEI sends their 2 strongest teams
(Birt, Bradley) to battle 4 Nova Scotia teams.
I think the Islanders should come out on top this weekend as they have
more experience. Plus, Friday is Suzanne
Birt’s birthday...what better gift than a spiel victory?
Qualifiers: Team Birt, Team Bradley, Team Brothers, Team Nix
Championship: Team
Birt over Team Brothers
Before signing off, I would like to invite you all to check
out the #TwineTime player interview blog posted earlier this week: #BetweenTheSheets
with Jamie Koe. I had the
opportunity to sit down and talk about the upcoming season, relegation, curling
in the historic #KoeKlan, beer and more.
In fact, check it out to see who Jamie names as one of the smelliest
guys on tour.
Enjoy the outstanding curling action across the
country...and across the pond...this weekend rock heads and stoners. Continue to follow along with draw by draw
results on CurlingZone and
participate in the fantasy pick’em....see if you can best me (NitDuck). See you next week...
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