I want to come back to Meteghan for one of those Gold Star patch thingys!
I didn't think it could get much better at the Gold Star Bonspiel this past weekend at the Clare Curling Club in Meteghan. Everything was first class, the people were super friendly, the facilities were excellent and we curled like a team possessed.
We made it to the little Acadian town around 5:30 pm on Friday and checked in to the Havre Capitaine hotel. This was a well run establishment and was a steal at just $69.00 a night, I would have paid $30.00 more and still come away satisfied.
Phil, Darren and I decided to go to 'Around the Bend' for a quick bite before our first match at 8:15. It was a new facility, having been set up only a few months ago as a haven for the local fishing population. I was tempted to tell the waitress that it was Darren's 29th birthday and he should get a discount but I kept my mouth shut and would reveal he was "25" later.
We met Peter at the rink just before 8 and we checked out the draw and saw our first match was against Gerald Oliver of Bridgetown. We were relieved there was no out of province teams this year as we faced a team from BC twice and lost twice.
A three spot in the first end didn't help but we kept our cool and came back to tie 3-3 after the third end. We exchanged deuces in four and five but the turning point came in six as we put a number of rocks in play and left Oliver drawing against four.
He was light with the delivery and we stole the points and went up 9-5 en route to an evantual 11-7 win and a spot in the Sweet 16. This was the first time we had won our first game in a tournament.
Darren had 'Happy Birthday' sung to him by both teams after the match, I know he would have wished it was 10 girls instead of 10 guys but that's what happens when its a men's tournament instead of an open tournament.
We partied a little that night and Darren slept in until almost noon but there was still more to do on Saturday with a pair of games scheduled. Clare's own Wayne Coggins was next up and it was tight throughout with neither side looking to give an edge.
The teams exchanged points at every opportunity. Coggins stole a single to start but we got it back in the second end. We each tallied deuces and then singles to leave the scores tied 4-4 through six ends. Coggins had to settle for one in seven to take a 5-4 lead but we had the hammer coming home and we took advantage.
Once again, we had a lot of action both in the back of the rings as well as the front and we were lying four as the host skip threw his last rock. It looked good in the beginning but his sweepers started too late and Peter didn't need to throw his last rock. An 8-5 win and a trip to the quarter-finals was ours.
James Doucet, the organizer of the tournament, and his crew put on an excellent job. The total entry fee was just $170.00 and you get 3-5 games of curling, mussels, lobster, spaghetti, desserts etc. He's also a pretty damn good curler having won this event twice.
But the craziness was about to begin later that night. Our scheduled match with Bob Murphy of Yarmouth was delayed 30 minutes to 10:40 which put us last up overall. Murphy had won his first two games in impressive style but we held our known through four ends and led 3-2.
The fifth end saw a controversial moment when their third yapped at Phil to make up his mind on whether to measure a pair of rocks that were biting the front of the rings. They scored three instead of four to lead 5-3.
Darren and I inadvertently swept over the t-line to take a rock out in the sixth which didn't help matters and they would steal one to lead 6-3 with just two ends left. We took one in seven and threatened in eight but Murphy picked one of our two rocks with his last shot to hang on for a 6-5 win.
It was a tough loss but we were encouraged by our run in the 'A' group and we were hoping to win the final two games in the Consolation bracket.
Sadly our luck ran out as we fell 11-4 to Paul Comeau, the score a little misleading as we were down just 6-4 in the seventh, but he made a tricky tap back to score five.
Each sectional winner gets a little Gold Star patch as well as a trophy and while the competitive pros try to get a purple heart as provincial champion, we hope to get back to Meteghan next year and do even better and come away with one of those coveted Gold Star patches.
A wonderful weekend that won't be soon forgotten!
Cheers,
Terry
http://www.curlingrocks.com/team/rajuncadiens/
We made it to the little Acadian town around 5:30 pm on Friday and checked in to the Havre Capitaine hotel. This was a well run establishment and was a steal at just $69.00 a night, I would have paid $30.00 more and still come away satisfied.
Phil, Darren and I decided to go to 'Around the Bend' for a quick bite before our first match at 8:15. It was a new facility, having been set up only a few months ago as a haven for the local fishing population. I was tempted to tell the waitress that it was Darren's 29th birthday and he should get a discount but I kept my mouth shut and would reveal he was "25" later.
We met Peter at the rink just before 8 and we checked out the draw and saw our first match was against Gerald Oliver of Bridgetown. We were relieved there was no out of province teams this year as we faced a team from BC twice and lost twice.
A three spot in the first end didn't help but we kept our cool and came back to tie 3-3 after the third end. We exchanged deuces in four and five but the turning point came in six as we put a number of rocks in play and left Oliver drawing against four.
He was light with the delivery and we stole the points and went up 9-5 en route to an evantual 11-7 win and a spot in the Sweet 16. This was the first time we had won our first game in a tournament.
Darren had 'Happy Birthday' sung to him by both teams after the match, I know he would have wished it was 10 girls instead of 10 guys but that's what happens when its a men's tournament instead of an open tournament.
We partied a little that night and Darren slept in until almost noon but there was still more to do on Saturday with a pair of games scheduled. Clare's own Wayne Coggins was next up and it was tight throughout with neither side looking to give an edge.
The teams exchanged points at every opportunity. Coggins stole a single to start but we got it back in the second end. We each tallied deuces and then singles to leave the scores tied 4-4 through six ends. Coggins had to settle for one in seven to take a 5-4 lead but we had the hammer coming home and we took advantage.
Once again, we had a lot of action both in the back of the rings as well as the front and we were lying four as the host skip threw his last rock. It looked good in the beginning but his sweepers started too late and Peter didn't need to throw his last rock. An 8-5 win and a trip to the quarter-finals was ours.
James Doucet, the organizer of the tournament, and his crew put on an excellent job. The total entry fee was just $170.00 and you get 3-5 games of curling, mussels, lobster, spaghetti, desserts etc. He's also a pretty damn good curler having won this event twice.
But the craziness was about to begin later that night. Our scheduled match with Bob Murphy of Yarmouth was delayed 30 minutes to 10:40 which put us last up overall. Murphy had won his first two games in impressive style but we held our known through four ends and led 3-2.
The fifth end saw a controversial moment when their third yapped at Phil to make up his mind on whether to measure a pair of rocks that were biting the front of the rings. They scored three instead of four to lead 5-3.
Darren and I inadvertently swept over the t-line to take a rock out in the sixth which didn't help matters and they would steal one to lead 6-3 with just two ends left. We took one in seven and threatened in eight but Murphy picked one of our two rocks with his last shot to hang on for a 6-5 win.
It was a tough loss but we were encouraged by our run in the 'A' group and we were hoping to win the final two games in the Consolation bracket.
Sadly our luck ran out as we fell 11-4 to Paul Comeau, the score a little misleading as we were down just 6-4 in the seventh, but he made a tricky tap back to score five.
Each sectional winner gets a little Gold Star patch as well as a trophy and while the competitive pros try to get a purple heart as provincial champion, we hope to get back to Meteghan next year and do even better and come away with one of those coveted Gold Star patches.
A wonderful weekend that won't be soon forgotten!
Cheers,
Terry
http://www.curlingrocks.com/team/rajuncadiens/
posted by curlerboi @ 8:38 p.m.
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