McEwen Begins Quest for Return Brier Trip
Defending champion Mike McEwen and his Fort Rouge team ( BJ & Denni Neufeld, Matt Wozniak) were one of two teams to steal five-enders on the 4pm draw at the Viterra Championship in Winkler. McEwen went on to defeat Merv Satterthwaite (St. Vital) 9-2 as he began his chase for a third consecutive Manitoba title.
With a championship on Sunday, McEwen would join Jeff Stoughton as the only back-to-back-to-back Men’s champions in the storied history of Manitoba curling.
McEwen’s clubmate Tyler Drews and his team also stole a five in posting an 8-1 win over Steve Irwin (Brandon).
Stolen ends were also keys to the other three games on the late afternoon draw.
Dennis Bohn (Assiniboine Memorial) stole a single point and a deuce and the three points were the margin of victory in a 6-3 win over Ryan Thomson (Morden).
Brett Walter (Elmwood) scored a three on the ninth end with an angled double raise double kill. Walter led William Lyburn (Assiniboine Memorial) 7-5 coming home but hit and rolled out on the tenth, leaving Lyburn a hit for two and a tie. In the extra end, the veteran out-manoeuvered the young team leaving nothing but a cold draw to the button. Walter was a little heavy and Lyburn stole an 8-7 win.
In the fifth game on the 4pm draw in Winkler, Richard Muntain (Pinawa) stole two on the eighth end to take a 6-4 lead on Tanner Lott (Winnipeg Beach). Lott blanked the ninth and scored two coming home to tie and force an extra end but Muntain scored one on that extra end for a 7-6 win.
The 2018 Viterra Championship continues in Winkler with an 8:15pm draw after Opening Ceremonies. Provincial Junior Men’s Champion JT Ryan (Assiniboine Memorial) will play Kyle Foster (Arborg) in their first game of the event. The other four games will be “B” side games with the losers being the first teams eliminated from the double knockout qualifying round.
