Dunstone in the driver’s seat

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This article was published 28/01/2016 (3773 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

As playoffs come into view at the Canadian junior curling championships, Matt Dunstone is in the driver’s seat and ready to floor the pedal.

Dunstone and his Team Manitoba of third Colton Lott, second Kyle Doering and lead Rob Gordon wrapped up the opening round of the juniors Tuesday with a perfect 6-0 record. They continued their winning ways into the tougher championship round, with a 7-3 result over New Brunswick on Wednesday afternoon.

Truthfully, it’s been smooth sailing in Stratford, Ont. The Granite foursome won all seven games by sizable margins, and Dunstone has been pleased with their shooting. That’s a turnaround from his last visit to nationals in 2013, where he lost two games early; he and Lott fought on to win the championship anyway.

Manitoba has three games left to determine playoff placements. Two are slated for today, including one against last year’s finalist Jacob Hersikorn of Saskatchewan and one against Northern Ontario’s Tanner Horgan, who has had a strong run. They’ll wrap up with a Friday-morning match against unbeaten B.C.

“We want to keep playing like our backs are against the wall,” Dunstone said. “This time we want that bye to the final, and we’re in a position to get that spot. It’s different because we’re in the driver’s seat. Last time, we had no choice but to win. I want to keep that same mindset going into these last games.”

Even in those comfy wins, the first one of the week stands out. The final score: Manitoba 33 Nunavut 1.

In fairness, Nunavut’s curling program is young. This is the fourth year the territory has sent a team to nationals; the men’s and women’s junior squads recorded the first national wins for Nunavut just this week. The Rankin Inlet team’s skip, Arthur Siksik, didn’t seem particularly bothered by the score: “We were playing Manitoba,” he told Curling Canada. “Manitoba! Geez! They’re a great team.”

Across the curling world, some fans complained Dunstone had run up the score. Thing is, the Manitoba skip noted, it didn’t feel like that on the ice. The teams were laughing together as the score swelled up; they walked away as friends, and have been playing ping pong in the player lounge all week.

“We knew with the score, we were probably going to get some heat,” Dunstone said. “That’s a very unorthodox score to have in curling… But they weren’t at the game, they didn’t see how everything went. In that last end, we stole five. There was only one rock in play until our third’s first rock. By no means were we putting rocks in play and trying to guard them or whatnot.”

In between those wins, Dunstone’s team has been trying to get out and cheer for the Manitoban junior women. Besides territorial solidarity, there’s also that family connection: Team Manitoba second Melissa Gordon is Dunstone lead Rob Gordon’s sister. And her foursome, skipped by Abby Ackland, is making their own run. The Manitobans sat 5-1 after the first round of play, their only stumble being a tight 8-6 loss to New Brunswick. Ackland thought it was the one game where her team, which includes lead Sara Oliver and third Robyn Njegovan, didn’t throw so well; but it served as a reminder, she added, that no one is invincible.

“We’re taking it as a grain of salt,” she said. “We know how to build off that. We know how to put it to the side and move on to the next game.”

Now, the women have moved into the championship round, with key matchups today against a very strong Team B.C. and Friday against Nova Scotia.

There is a little extra history riding on their shoulders. Though Manitoban men have won the last three Canadian titles — Dunstone in 2013, Braden Calvert the next two years — the last time a Manitoban women’s team won it all was 2009, when Kaitlyn Lawes clinched her second consecutive national championship.

“It’s in the back of my mind,” Ackland said. “It’d be nice to have Manitoba girls be able to win. We are a very good province, a very competitive province. Every single person who comes out of Manitoba, they could all compete here. I think as long as we stay focused, that’s a goal we can achieve.”

melissa.martin@freepress.mb.ca