Curlers fight for provincial championship berths

Bryan Burgess, Jeff Currie and Trevor Bonot each drew first blood Friday at a provincial men’s curling qualifier at Port Arthur Curling Club.

Burgess knocked off Dylan Johnston 11-3 in the opening draw, opening a 5-0 lead after three and scoring four more in the fifth to put the match away.

Currie scored two in the 10th end to edge Assad 7-6, while Bonot scored one in the 10th with the hammer to edge former world champion Al Hackner.

The top three teams at the event will earn an automatic bid into the Northern Ontario men’s provincial play downs for the right to advance to the Brier.

Draw 2 goes Saturday morning, with Hacker tangling with Assad, Bonot taking on former junior champion Johnston and Burgees playing Currie.

At Copper Cliff, Ont., in the east qualifier, Dustin Montpelier and Mike Jakubo opened with wins in the five-team event.