McEwen confident heading into Viterra competition

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This article was published 05/02/2019 (2602 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

VIRDEN — Here’s some ominous news for curlers not wearing Team Carruthers colours this week: Mike McEwen professes to feeling more comfortable and confident now than he has all season long.

McEwen is back as head of the house and will throw the final stones for the Reid Carruthers foursome from West St. Paul, the prohibitive favourite this week at 2019 Viterra provincial men’s curling championship.

“It’s not something that’s been there for quite a while, but definitely within the last few weeks I really like where I’m at. There has been some changes in the pursuit of getting better, personally, as an athlete. Some of those changes, I don’t feel, have taken until recently,” McEwen said Tuesday afternoon, on the eve of the 32-team Manitoba championship.

“I made some changes with throwing, fine-tuning, and it’s not just me. Some of the guys have gone through that on our team, too. But after reflecting on things, it’s just taken a while to really get comfortable with how I’m playing,” he said.

Defending champion Reid Carruthers and McEwen, the guy he defeated in the ’18 final in Winkler, formed a powerhouse crew during the off-season, which included the rock-solid front end of second Derek Samagalski and lead Colin Hodgson.

The 2018-19 curling campaign hasn’t been the smashing success most assumed it would be following the union of a pair of brilliant competitors and close off-ice friends.

Save for a triumphant Asian excursion just prior to Christmas — the Karuizawa International in Japan — there wasn’t much celebrating early for a couple of guys who skipped teams at the Brier a year ago in Regina and have met in three of the last four provincial finals.

In the fall, Carruthers called the shots and threw third stones, while McEwen tossed the final two rocks. The formula produced only mediocre results. McEwen took over skipping duties and delivered the crucial last rocks, and then they altered the plan again with Carruthers assuming all the traditional skip responsibilities.

In late January, they competed in Phoenix at a World Curling Tour (WCT) event — the Golden Wrench Classic — and left the desert with a title — with McEwen as skip and Carruthers as third. And they’ll stick with that formula here, while retaining the Team Carruthers moniker.

“I feel like the timing is good. Overall, I think the team feels confident in where we are right now versus where we were a month or two ago. A lot better vibe going into this week,” said McEwen, who won back-to-back provincial crowns in 2016 and ’17 with B.J. Neufeld, Matt Wozniak and Denni Neufeld, has a chance to make history. He’s gunning for a record fifth-straight appearance in the Manitoba final.

The championship wraps up Sunday afternoon, with the survivor earning home-ice advantage at the Brier Canadian championship, March 2-10 in Brandon.

McEwen was a no-show for Tuesday’s practise session at Tundra Oil & Gas Place — home of the MJHL’s Virden Oil Capitals. Carruthers quickly eliminated any juicy storylines to pursue about the missing team member.

“He had some stuff to do in the city. Not sick, everyone’s healthy. No trades or no seasonal case of the chicken pox,” the five-time Manitoba men’s champ and 2011 world titliest (as second for Jeff Stoughton), said wryly. McEwen was hospitalized for three days with a severe case of chicken pox and missed the bulk of the ’18 Viterra before making a dramatic return for the final — a 7-6 defeat to Carruthers.

The squad begins the quest for the 2019 crown at 4 p.m. against Robert Daudet of Winnipeg’s Granite Club.

Carruthers, ranked 12th in the world, said the gargantuan target on the team’s back won’t weigh them down.

“We’re one of a few favourites. (No. 2-seed Jason) Gunnlaugson and (No.3-seed Braden) Calvert have had great years, and there’s a few others who’ve been strong on the Manitoba Curling Tour (MCT). But as far as our preparation goes, it’s about trying to be our very best and that’s all we can control,” said Carruthers.

“This is a huge deal and our top tournament of the year. It’s chance to get to Brier, which is always a dream no matter how many times you’ve done it. We’re excited to be here.”

Calvert’s Assiniboine Memorial foursome, with third Kyle Kurz, second Ian McMillan and lead Rob Gordon, is one of the country’s premier up-and-coming curling teams. It won three MCT events and qualified for three Grand Slam events.

The skip of the WCT’s 19th-ranked men’s team, just a few seasons removed from a brilliant junior career, refused to look past his first game, a 12:15 p.m. matchup today with Shaun Parsons of Thompson. Fixate on the prize at the end and you do so art your own peril, he said.

“One game a time, I know it’s cliché but there’s no other way to approach an event like this. You just want to get through your first one and then focus on the next one Thursday,” said Calvert, who was bounced from last year’s Viterra on opening day.

“In a big event like this, you look at the bracket and there’s a lot of games to play. You have to focus on the first one in front of you. You can’t think about qualifying on Wednesday. I’ve actually been done on the Wednesday, so I know that you have to go game by game. Last year it was bang-bang. At least they gave us the opening ceremonies but we lost right after that.”

 

jason.bell@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPJasonBell