Stories ranging from redemption to chickenpox highlight provincial men’s championship

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This article was published 03/02/2018 (3117 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WINKLER — Pick a storyline — any compelling storyline — on the final day here at the 2018 provincial men’s curling championship.

To wit: West St. Paul skip Reid Carruthers desperately wants a shot at redemption at the Brier, and he’s just one win away from returning; two-time defending champion Mike McEwen is still in a Winkler hospital bed with chickenpox while his teammates try to make some history here; and, there’s this fresh-faced bunch, led by J.T. Ryan, that’s emerged as a major force this week.

Carruthers was almost surgical in a convincing 7-3 triumph Saturday night over McEwen’s crew from Fort Rouge in the 1-2 Page playoff game at Centennial Arena. It’s the fourth straight year the province’s two best teams by a mile have met in the key matchup.

McEwen hasn’t played since Wednesday and spent a third night in hospital. B.J. Neufeld throws the last two rocks, while Denni Neufeld and Matt Wozniak deliver three apiece.

While he should be discharged today, it’s highly doubtful McEwen will reclaim his rightful spot in the house today, said lead Denni Neufeld.

“It’s hard to imagine he could help us in any way. I don’t know what strength he’s going to have, what kind of legs he’ll have, so at this point we’re probably going to go with what we have right now,” said Denni.

One sheet over, Ryan, the two-time reigning Manitoba junior champ, showed some steely nerves in the 10th end, playing a delicate bump of his own rock to the top of the button — a rock Brandon’s Steve Irwin couldn’t erase on a run-back — to secure a 5-3 win in the 3-4 playoff game.

Ryan meets McEwen/Neufeld in the semi-final at 8:30 a.m., with the survivor battling Carruthers in the 3 p.m. final. Both games are televised on Sportsnet.

Regina hosts the 16-team Brier national championship, March 3-11.

Carruthers, who skipped his team to the Canadians in 2015 — posting a disappointing 4-7 record — admitted he felt the heat against McEwen/Neufeld with a free pass to the final hanging in the balance.

“We were nervous in that game, as I’m sure they were, too. It’s a big game,” he said. “If I was actually not nervous, I’d be worried. It doesn’t matter what we’re playing in… when I have a shot for a win, I get a little bit jittery and that’s what I expect to feel.

“Definitely, we’re all hungry for (a return to the Brier) and that’s why you see a bit of the nervous energy out there.”

The McEwen/Neufeld trio’s execution had been near perfect this week, although it hadn’t been forced into shots with the high degree of difficulty that Carruthers provided.

Down 2-1, B.J. was left to attempt a long raise double-takeout of a pair of yellow rocks near the button, but the stone he promoted sailed innocently through the house and Carruthers stole two for a 4-1 lead. B.J. missed another run-back in the seventh allowing Carruthers a draw for a pair to take command 6-3.

“You don’t have a lot of room for mistakes,” said Denni. “We’re going to come back (this morning) and play hard. I know those young guys (Team Ryan) will play hard, so we’ll have to be at our best.”

Meanwhile, the latest model of the Ryan Express keeps on rolling

J.T.’s dynamite young team, with third Jacques Gauthier, second Colin Kurz and lead Brendan Bilawka, — just two weeks after finishing third in at the junior Canadians in Shawinigan, Que. — won seven of his last eight games in Winkler.

The consequence of losing in six of those was elimination. “Stressful. It takes a toll,” he said, adding he’s a bit star-struck here.

“It’s really exciting. You watch those guys on TV all the time, and then just to be the last ones in an event with them is something special,” said J.T., the 20-year-old son of former world champion Jeff Ryan (1995) and the nephew of Pat Ryan, won a pair of Brier titles (1988 and ’89), skipping a team became known as the Ryan Express.

“We’ve already accomplished way more than what we could have wanted in this. So, we’re going to go out there and have fun (Sunday). If we play our best, I think we have a chance.

McEwen/Neufeld had won five straight before being shredded by Carruthers, who is backed by third Braeden Moskowy, second Derek Samagalski and lead Colin Hodgson.

Carruthers cautioned that discounting McEwen/Neufeld could be a perilous. “They’re still alive and well. You never count that team out until they’re actually eliminated,” he said.

George Sangster’s crew from the Granite played a man short in 1948 and won the province. Seventy years later, the team that only seven weeks ago came within a whisker of qualifying for the Olympics finds itself with an opportunity to equal that feat.

“That’s a testament to the three of us and how we are, and how we approach challenges,” he said, Saturday morning. “We took it as exactly that, a challenge to do something different. That’s the first thing I’m thinking is, ‘Wow, could we win this and do something that no team has ever done before?’ That’s a fun challenge.”

jason.bell@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPJasonBell