LITTLE CURRENT, Ont. – Trevor Bonot and Tanner Horgan are a win away from the Northern Ontario Curling Championship final.
Horgan, the defending champion marched into the A-side finale with a 6-2 win over Thunder Bay’s Brian Adams Jr., stealing a pair in the second end to open up a 3-1 lead.
Bonot scored three in the ninth to put away Mike Assad in the other A-side match, winning 8-3 on Thursday afternoon.
Horgan and Bonot, who will play each other on Friday for a berth in the final, are the only two undefeated teams remaining in the 14-team event, being staged in Little Current, Ont.
The news wasn’t as good for Thunder Bay skip Bryan Burgess, whose championship hopes came to an end with an 8-7 loss to Malcolm O’Bright in a last-chance C-side encounter, the tournament using a triple-knockout format.
Burgess led 6-5 after scoring three in the sixth, but O’Bright evened the score with a single in the seventh, stole one in eight and finished with the game-winning single in the 10th.
The loss was Burgess’ third straight, eliminating the foursome.
In other action, Little Current’s Jordan Chandler won his B-side match against last year’s runner-up, Sandy MacEwan, edging his opponent 6-5, scoring one with the hammer in the final end.
Finally, Sudbury’s Ian Deschene stayed alive in B-side with a 7-5 win over North Bay’s Brad Minogue, who has one chance left with two losses under his belt.
Thursday night brings the start of the women’s provincial championship, with Thunder Bay’s Krista McCarville, a 10-time provincial champion, taking on Thunder Bay’s Robyn Despins.
Lauren Mann of Timmins matches up against Sudbury’s Krysta Burns and Sudbury’s Jackie McCormick, the sister of Bonot, will open against North Bay’s Laura Johnston.
The women are playing a round-robin format, with a manageable six teams entered.
In the lone men’s match of the night, Thunder Bay’s Zach Warkentin and Sault Ste. Marie’s Matthew Hunt will battle in a C-side match, the loser going home. The winner takes on Thunder Bay’s Chris Silver on Friday morning.
O’Bright plays Minogue in another win-or-go-home match on Friday.
