Central Captures City High School Boys Curling Crown In Dramatic Fashion
By Robert Thomas
“Wow. Whoever said curling is boring needed to watch this game,” one of the spectators said as Central Collegiate captured the Moose Jaw high school boys city curling championship in a dramatic come from behind victory.
A win that came down to the final end, the final rock, the final push of the brush in what was a highly competitive matchup.
The Vanier team, skipped by Kendall Ebbett, had come that close to being crowned city champions.
A matchup Vanier Collegiate made possible by engineering a convincing fifth end handshake victory the day before.
Vanier's sweepers were put to work in the first end- MJ Independent photo
Vanier opened the scoring in the first end when Ebbett, who had the hammer, drew for two.
Vanier would steal a pointing the second end on a clean miss. A shot which if it hadn't missed could have meant two points for Central as they had second shot in the house.
The third end saw Central score a single point with the score now 3 - 1 in Vanier's favour.
Vanier would pick up a point in the fourth end to make the score Vanier 4 and Central 1.
Central just misses a takeout in the second end - MJ Independent photo
The fifth end would see Central draw to make the score Vanier 4 and Central 2.
In the sixth end Vanier would once again take out a Central stone to score one and make the score Vanier 5 and Central 2.
The seventh end came down to a measurement - after Vanier just missed a double - as to who had third shot.
By just a smidgen Central had third shot to score three.
The game was tied 5 - 5 with Vaniet having the hammer heading home.
In the final end Central managed to put one rock in the house and them a log jam developed.
Vanier tried to break up the log jam but was unsuccessful as Central simply plugged the hole.
Ebbett would throw his final stone being unable to remove Central's rocks and punch his way into the house for the win.
Central would win the championship defeating Vanier 6 - 5.
Vanier skip Kendall Ebbett delivers his final rock to score two in the first end - MJ Independent photo
“It was close and we pulled it together in the end,” winning skip Laine Burnham told MJ Independent in a post game interview.
Burnham said each end was close and competitive which is exactly what Central had expected from Vanier.
Despite trailing throughout the majority of the game he said he was confident Central could still win.
“It was kind of slipping away but I knew we could get it back.”
Central's skip Laine Burnham calls for a takeout in the first end of play - MJ Independent photo
Asked to describe the seventh end - where Central scored three to yield the score at five - he said the end “was the one that defined the game.”
Asked if he thought it was possible to tie the game coming home he said it was possible but also difficult given Vanier's play.
“I knew we could but the way the game was going it was a lot (to score),” he said.
Ice wise Burnham described conditions “as good, better than yesterday. In the end we figured it out.”
Lining up the final shot of the matchup with Vanier needing to remove Central’s shot rock in the red to score the victory in the eighth end - MJ Independent photo
Asked if Central had been expecting Vanier to come and play so well Burnham said it was actually what they had expected as Vanier is highly talented.
“I knew it was going to be a close game. We are both good teams.”
This is Grade Ten Burnham's first high school city championship.
The team comes from various grades with the majority in junior high school.
Third Dante Cornea is in Grade 12, second Kai Gauthier is in Grade 10, lead Bradley Murrell and lead Ryan Kennedy are both in Grade 9.
He said with the majority of the team likely back next year there is a great future ahead for the group.
Both teams are off to district play in Gravelbourg this weekend.
