Six titles nothing to overlook

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This article was published 11/02/2011 (5651 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

BEAUSEJOUR — He plays the most overlooked position in the sport. So perhaps it is not surprising that the monumental achievement Steve Gould is attempting at the Manitoba men’s curling championship this week has also been largely overlooked.

While much has been made about the prospects of Jeff Stoughton winning his ninth Manitoba men’s title here or Mike McEwen winning what promises to be the first of many, almost nothing has been discussed about the opportunity Gould has to separate himself from everyone but his skip in the annals of Manitoba curling history.

With a win here in the provincial final on Sunday, Jeff Stoughton’s lead would have six Manitoba men’s curling titles on his resumé. That is something only Stoughton himself can say right now.

Former Stoughton second Garry Vandenberghe has five provincial men’s titles. Ditto former skip Kerry Burtnyk and former lead Bryan Wood. And, for the moment, Gould. And that’s it.

All of which is to say Gould is in a position to enjoy that rarest of opportunities for a curling lead — a chance to share the spotlight, even if just for a moment.

“I’d love to have six Purple Hearts. It would mean a lot to have only Jeff ahead of me,” Gould, 38, said Thursday.

Gould won his first provincial men’s title in his first year with Stoughton in 1996 — and added Brier and world titles that year for good measure.

The lead and skip split after two disappointing seasons in 1997 and 1998 — “I wanted to get a better lead,” Stoughton jokes — and Stoughton once again had instant success with a new team, this time winning the 1999 Brier (and missing his second world title by an extra end) with Doug Armstrong at lead.

Gould curled with a succession of different skips, losing the 2001 provincial final with Dale Duguid before returning to Stoughton for the 2003-2004 season.

It has been gravy ever since, with provincial titles in 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2010.

“I think it’s just a comfort level that we have,” said Gould.

“Jeff had that for awhile with Garry and I think maybe it’s transferred to me now.

“He trusts me with the weight that I tell him. He doesn’t ask very often — only when he’s struggling — but he knows he can trust what I tell him.

“But there’s no magic with Jeff and me. We’ve just played, won and lost lots together and he knows what he’s getting from me. He knows I’ll play OK, sweep fairly hard, generally be positive out there and have a good time off the ice. That’s basically what he gets from me.”

While Gould has long been best known for pioneering the cross-the-face “tick” shot to move a guard without removing it, he’s also considered one of the best sweepers in the game.

He’s also an old-school judge of weight, doing it the intuitive way in a sport in which the stopwatch has become ubiquitous for the purpose.

“I find when I’m running beside a rock I have a better read on it than if I’m clicking something and not paying attention,” he said. “I’ve just always done it that way.”

It is hard to argue with the results. With a 6-4 win over La Salle’s Randy Neufeld in their lone game of the day Thursday, Gould and the rest of Stoughton’s team are one more win away today from a berth in the eight-team playoff round that begins tonight.

Stoughton will play Deer Lodge’s Allan Lyburn in one of four A-side qualifier games this morning.

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The other three will see former Brier champion Vic Peters take on veteran Peter Nicholls, former Stoughton second Rob Fowler take on a surprising Hamiota team skipped by Brent Strachan and top seed Mike McEwen playing former Canadian Mixed champion Sean Grassie.

McEwen needed a last-rock draw to the eight-foot Thursday afternoon to escape with a 6-5 victory over 2008 Manitoba men’s champion Garth Smith in a game McEwen felt fortunate afterward to have won.

“I wouldn’t say we were that sharp out there. If you’re flashing the odd peel, you’re not at your best out there. We were a little off that game and we gave Garth chances to get back in it,” McEwen said.

LOOSEHAIRS — MCA Bonspiel champion Dave Boehmer was eliminated Thursday afternoon with a 7-6 loss to David Hamblin… 2005 provincial champion Randy Dutiaume lost to Peters on the morning draw but bounced back with an 8-3 win over Baldur’s Rob Ramage in the afternoon to advance to a B-side semi-final this afternoon against Granite’s Bob Sigurdson.

paul.wiecek@freepress.mb.ca