Manitoba men still in hunt for Olympic berth

By: Paul Wiecek Posted: 11:06 PM CST Thursday, Dec. 7, 2017

OTTAWA — Mike McEwen and Reid Carruthers are still alive at the Roar of the Rings heading into the final day of the round robin.

Read this article for free:

or

Already have an account? Log in here »

To continue reading, please subscribe:

*Billed as $4.00 plus GST every four weeks. After 24 weeks, price increases to the regular rate of $19.95 plus GST every four weeks. Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.

*Billed as $19.95 plus GST every four weeks. Cancel any time.

OTTAWA — Mike McEwen and Reid Carruthers are still alive at the Roar of the Rings heading into the final day of the round robin.

Read unlimited articles for free today:

or

Already have an account? Log in here »

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 07/12/2017 (3050 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA — Mike McEwen and Reid Carruthers are still alive at the Roar of the Rings heading into the final day of the round robin.

That’s not the only thing they have in common.

Both teams are 4-3 heading into today’s curling action.

Adrian Wyld / The Canadian Press
Winnipeg skip Reid Carruthers throws a rock during the Canadian Olympic trials Thursday. — Adrian Wyld / The Canadian Press Winnipeg skip Reid Carruthers throws a rock during the Canadian Olympic trials Thursday.

Both teams are playing Edmonton’s Brendan Bottcher in their final games — McEwen in the morning, Carruthers in the evening.

Both teams would secure themselves no worse than a tiebreaker game with a win today.

One final thing: if both Carruthers and McEwen win today, that tiebreaker game would be between the two of them, Saturday morning at 8 a.m., with the winner advancing to the semifinal Saturday evening against Brad Gushue.

Put it all together, and there’s a certain symmetry to the idea that the fortunes of two Winnipeg-based skips — who are also close friends off the ice — would be so inextricably linked on what will be the biggest day of their curling lives.

But there’s also one big difference between the two, too. And that’s this: Carruthers comes into the final day having won four of his last five games, including a 9-5 win Thursday morning over Brad Jacobs.

McEwen, on the other hand, lost 6-3 to Jacobs on Thursday night and has now lost three of his last four games.

If momentum counts for anything, in other words, the advantage goes to Carruthers.

And McEwen? He was keeping his cool Thursday night, and grateful for the fact he still controls his own destiny heading into the final day of an event that will determine Canada’s men’s and women’s curling representatives at the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea in February.

“That’s fortunate,” McEwen said. “I would have said at the start of the week that three losses might not control your own destiny. So it’s nice that we still do have that. We’re not hoping for someone else to lose, so that’s a bonus.

“If we play well on Friday, we should have a chance to play on the weekend.”

Both Kevin Koe and Gushue already have those dates booked.

Koe improved to 7-0 on Thursday with a 7-4 win over John Morris, and has now clinched a berth in Sunday’s final, along with the hammer and his choice of rocks.

Gushue, meanwhile, clinched second place with an 8-5 win over Steven Laycock on Thursday night that improved his team to 5-2.

That leaves just the third and final playoff spot in the men’s field to be determined.

McEwen and Carruthers aren’t the only ones still alive for it. Their opponent today, Bottcher, is 3-3 and would claim the third playoff spot if he beats McEwen and Carruthers.

paul.wiecek@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @PaulWiecek