LITTLE CURRENT, Ont. – Trevor Bonot opened the Northern Ontario men’s curling playdown with a convincing win.
Bonot, lead Kurtis Byrd, second Jordan Potts and third Mike McCarville needed only eight ends to put away North Bay’s Malcolm O’Bright on Thursday, as the 14-team, triple-knockout event got under way on Wednesday in Little Current, Ont.
Bonot and O’Bright traded singles in the opening two ends, but a steal of two in the fourth gave Bonot control of the match, up 4-1. A deuce in the sixth upped their lead to 6-2 and the Thunder Bay rink put it away with four in the eighth, the two teams shaking hands and a 10-3 Bonot win that keeps them on the A-side of the bracket.
Things didn’t go so well for Thunder Bay’s Chris Silver, who surrendered four in the third and five in the ninth and went on to drop a 14-4 decision to North Bay’s Brad Minogue.
Minogue earned a date with defending champion Tanner Horgan in Wednesday’s 2 p.m. draw.
Two other Thunder Bay rinks also dropped their openers.
Zach Warkentin opened a 7-2 lead on Sault Ste. Marie’s Matthew Hunt, but gave up two in the seventh and steals of two in the eighth and ninth and lost 9-7.
Hunt plays Bonot on Wednesday afternoon.
Bryan Burgess also got off to a strong start, stealing three in the fifth to take a 4-0 lead on Mike Assad, only to give the three right back in the sixth. Assad then stole singles in the eighth, ninth and 10th and edged Burgess 6-4.
Assad advanced and will play Sandy MacEwan, a finalist in 2023, at 2 p.m.
In other action, hometown favourite Jordan Chandler broke open a 3-3 game with two in the sixth, then stole points in the seventh and eighth to earn an 8-3 win over Sudbury’s Ian Deschene, who drops to B-side with the loss.
He’ll take on the winner between Thunder Bay’s Brian Adams Jr. and Sudbury’s Jordan Rajala, who tangle at 2 p.m.
The women’s event begins on Thursday night, when favourite Krista McCarville takes on Thunder Bay’s Robyn Despins to open the six-team championship, the winner earning a spot at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts.
