Draw 13: McEwen, Carruthers to Play Page 1-2 Playoff Game
Defending champion and #1 seed Mike McEwen (Fort Rouge) and #2 seed Reid Carruthers (West St. Paul) have advanced to the 1-2 game on the top side of the 2018 Viterra Championship Page Playoff Round.
Team McEwen, still playing with three players in Mike McEwen’s absence, was tested by Manitoba junior champion JT Ryan (Assiniboine Memorial) but stole a point on the ninth end for a 5-3 lead and ran the young team out of rocks coming home.
A three on the fifth end gave Carruthers a 5-2 lead on Travis Bale (Fort Rouge). Bale scored a deuce on the seventh end but Carruthers blanked the next two to hold the hammer and a one point lead coming home. Going all out for a steal, Bale gave up a three to lose 8-4.
Attempting a run like 2014 when he reached the championship’s final four, Steve Irwin (Brandon) posted a 9-8 victory over 4th seed Pat Simmons (Granite). A stolen three on the eighth end was the turning point in the game.
In the fourth game, Daniel Birchard (Pembina) was a 6-5 victor over David Bohn (Assiniboine Memorial).
Bohn and Simmons are eliminated. Ryan drops to a “B” Side qualifying game against Birchard and Bale drops into a match with Irwin. The “B” Qualifiers will be played at 2pm, Saturday.
