McEwen Shocks Ontario in Wild Curling Weekend
Glenn Howard came into the Ontario Tankard final as the sentimental favourite.
Probably as the factual favourite, too. His team had gone 7-0 during the week in Port Elgin, beating back challenges from all comers, and all that’s left was the championship game.
The 18-time winner had kicked off his week in a style that endeared him to all recreational curlers everywhere.
What was it going to take to beat Howard, his son Scott, and their front end of Tim March and David Mathers?
How about a tuck-sliding Manitoban? Check.
How about another tuck-sliding Manitoban—turned curling nomad—turned Torontonian who also coaches Rachel Homan’s women’s team? Check.
How about Howard’s former second, who was with him for eight Briers and two world titles? Check.
How about the eldest son of Howard’s former third, who joined the squad literally a week before the Tankard’s first draw? Check.
How about Howard’s former third, who was with him for six Briers and a world title, who joined the team as coach literally a week before the Tankard’s first draw? Check.
How about a fast start for this paste-and-glue fivesome, starting with a steal of two in the first end and two more steals for a 4-0 lead?
Checkmate.
Mike McEwen, Ryan Fry, Brent Laing and Joe Hart—with Richard Hart as coach—defeated the Howard squad 8-3 in the Ontario final and will represent the trillium province at the Brier in London, Ont. in early March.
It’s obviously McEwen’s first Ontario title, and yes, to many he will look quite odd in the red, white and black in London. Import players aren’t usually the skip.
Team McEwen went 6-1 during pool and crossover play, and defeated Fry and Laing’s ex-skipper John Epping of Toronto 7-4 in the semifinal.
It was an impressive run given the team’s challenging season before Port Elgin. With Jonathan Beuk at second, the team had a 26-21 won/loss record over eight events.
By the time his team was winning 4-0 and 4-1, Fry was no doubt keeping an eye on his Homan charges as they took on Woodstock’s Hollie Duncan on a neighbouring sheet in the Tournament of Hearts final.
Homan and Co., who had a 6-1 record during Ontario STOH pool and crossover action, took a deuce in the first end and three points in the fourth on the way to whipping Duncan 9-2.
They’ve booked their tickets to the Canadian women’s championship in Kamloops, B.C. and made a double Sunday winner out of Fry, the 2014 Olympic champion with Northern Ontario’s Brad Jacobs.
Another Howard impressed in Port Elgin: Glenn’s daughter (and Scott’s sister) Carly Howard, who skipped her Mississauga squad to fourth place.
Ottawa’s Danielle Inglis lost the semifinal 8-7 to Duncan in an extra-end.
PROVINCIAL SUNDAY
A bunch of other provinces declared their champions over the weekend, with a few standout storylines.
Charlottetown’s Suzanne Birt won another P.E.I. women’s title, while Tyler Smith of Crapaud is going back to the Brier. Craig Savill fans might be disappointed, but if Smith can make more shots like this one … wowzers.
On The Rock, Nathan Young defeated Greg Smith for the men’s Tankard while Stacie Curtis beat veteran Laura Strong for the STOH berth.
In Nova Scotia, Christina Black made it back to Kamloops, as did New Brunswick stalwart Andrea Kelly.
Northern Ontario’s Krista McCarville? Yes, she has returned—of course.
Saskatchewan provides a couple of interesting notes.
In 2021, skip Robyn Silvernagle’s new baby Kolt faced health challenges and she stepped away from the sport. A GoFundMe page raised $15,000, $5,000 above the page’s initial goal.
Silvernagle only recently returned to curling and a new team, and after an 8-4 Saskatchewan championship win over accomplished mixed doubles thrower Nancy Martin, she’s off to her third Scotties.
Her first-year squad includes Kelly Shafer, who was featured in a special “Love Issue” of The Curling News some 13 years ago.
As Kelly Wood, the Scottish third competed with a young Eve Muirhead at the 2010 world championship in Swift Current. That’s where Wood fell in love with the city mayor, Jerrod Shafer, and she’s been a Sasky wife, mom and Canada-based curler ever since.
Shafer has repped the wheat sheaf province twice before, at mixed nationals, but this will be her first Tournament of Hearts.
Back to northern Ontario for the men’s Tankard championship, and that’s an intriguing result.
Brad Jacobs had taken the year off but returned to skip Jordan Chandler’s Manitoulin crew for the provincials in Kenora.
(It was also announced that Jacobs would compete in the remaining Grand Slams with Team Reid Carruthers, after the Manitoba squad dumped third Jason Gunnlaugson back in November.)
The Jacobs/Chandler experiment didn’t pan out, and it was the new Tanner Horgan foursome that defeated Sudbury’s Sandy MacEwen in the moose men’s final.
Horgan’s gang includes popular Colin Hodgson at front end and equally popular veteran third Darren Moulding of Alberta. Moulding, of course, was dismissed by the former Team Bottcher in late 2021, which caused one heck of an uproar.
Moulding was eventually picked up by James Grattan’s New Brunswick outfit in time to compete in his hometown Brier.
The Nova Scotia men’s Tankard actually wrapped up on Monday morning, after the previous night’s draw ended around 10:30 p.m.
Matthew Manuel defeated Own Purcell’s world junior and FISU university bronze medallists 5-4 in the final, courtesy of a 10th-end steal. The winning squad won the final playing with three players, after second Jeff Meagher was ill.
Meagher had just checked out of hospital when he received a FaceTime call from his victorious teammates.
Luke Saunders is on the winning team—that’s the son of curling and broadcast legend Colleen Jones.
Last but not least, the Manitoba STOH took place in East St. Paul and it was Jennifer Jones reigning supreme once again.
Top-seeded Team Kaitlyn Lawes, albeit with a makeshift lineup, lost the semifinal to the young Abby Ackland squad—the same team that impressed so many, including our own 2 Girls, at the last Grand Slam event.
Jones and her young team took it to the newcomers in the final, however, winning easily by an 11-5 margin.
Previously confirmed for the Kamloops STOH lineup are B.C.’s Clancy Grandy, NWT’s Kerry Galusha, Alberta’s wondershooter Kayla Skrlik, Nunavut’s Brigitte McPhail, Yukon’s Hailey Birnie and Quebec’s Laurie St-Georges.
Team Kerri Einarson, of course, are the three-time defending champions and will once again represent Canada.
Three wild card entries will be named shortly, and they’re expected to be skipped by 1) Kaitlyn Lawes, 2) Casey Scheidegger and 3) Abby Ackland.