After seeing a handful of upsets in the previous round of action, things were back to normal in the Original 16 Cash League on Wednesday night at the Moose Jaw Curling Centre.
All of the league’s leaders who took the ice emerged with wins, and with the playoffs set to begin on Feb. 22, first round match-ups are quickly becoming more and more clear.
Protec Studios (Tyler Krupski, 11-5) maintained their hold of sole possession of second place thanks to a 6-5 extra-end win over Rod Montgomery (7-10). As the score would indicate, things were close through the first five ends as the two teams were tied heading 3-3 heading into the break. Krupski picked up points in each of the next two ends, but Montgomery was able to get his deuce in the eighth to tie things up 5-5. Krupski was able to make good use of the hammer in the extra end, though, picking up his one and the win.
Things weren’t quite as close for KMS Construction (Ben Gamble, 10-3) and Pup’s Parlour (Jaedon Miller, 8-8), though you wouldn’t have known it in the early going. Miller picked up a pair in the fourth end to take a 3-2 lead, but Gamble tied the game in the fifth, stole one in the sixth and then put up a five-spot in the seventh to secure a 9-3 win.
Matt Froehlich (10-6) had a solid night against Pro-Tec Electric (Stan Barnsley, 7-8), rolling to an 8-0 victory. Froehlich picked up single points in each of the first two ends, and after Barnsley blanked the third, went right back to work with deuces in the fourth, fifth and sixth ends to bring things to an early end.
A big end made all the difference for KalTire (Dustin Woloschuk, 9-8) in his matchup with John’s Music (Ryan Wenarchuk, 8-9), leading to Woloschuk jumping three spots in the standings into fourth place. Wenarchuck got off to a great start, putting up two in each of the first and third ends and leading 5-1 through four. Woloschuk got all that back and then some in the fifth, scoring six to put up one of the biggest ends of the season and taking a 7-5 lead. The teams exchanged deuces the next two ends before Woloschuk ran Wenarchuk out of rocks in the eighth.
The other contest on the night was a quick one, as Fountain Tire (Barry Silk, 7-10) put up four in the second end and five in the third on his way to a 9-4 win over R.K. Sunview Farm’s Dayne Heisler (0-16).
The game between BTN Chartered Accountants (Penny Barker, 14-0) and EMJ Marketing (Joe Gunnis, 4-12) was cancelled.
The final night of the regular season takes place on Wednesday, Feb, 17 at the Moose Jaw Curling Centre, with action kicking off at 7:30 p.m.
