NIPIGON, Ont. – Tanner Horgan is an upset-in-the-making.
The Sudbury skip on Friday night knocked four-time defending Northern Ontario men’s curling champion Brad Jacobs from the ranks of the undefeated, stealing singles in the ninth and 10th ends to earn a 9-6 win and sole possession of top spot in the standings at 6-0.
Jacobs, who led 2-0 after two, fell to 5-1.
Horgan ran the round-robin table at last year's provincial play-downs, finishing 7-0, but lost to Jacobs 6-5 in the final.
In the other men’s match of the night, Thunder Bay’s Mike McCarville kept his playoff hopes alive, scoring the extra-end winner to capture a 6-4 victory over Sudbury’s Jordan Chandler and improve to 3-3, giving him solo fourth with one game to go.
Chandler dropped to 1-5, his lone win coming earlier in the day, a 10-5 decision over Dustin Montpellier.
Trevor Bonot, who was idle on Friday night after earning a 9-6 triumph in the afternoon draw over Montpellier, is alone in third at 3-2.
Thunder Bay’s Dylan Johnston, who lost 10-7 to Robbie Gordon in the afternoon is at 2-3, as is Gordon.
At the Northern Ontario Scotties Tournament of Heart, also being played at the Nipigon Arena, Thunder Bay’s Krista McCarville raced out to a 9-0 lead after three and shook hands after six, improving to 4-0 with a 10-3 win over Thunder Bay’s Haiiey Beaudry (0-4).
Thunder Bay’s Jenna Enge improved her playoff hopes, evening her record at 2-2 with an 8-5 win over Sudbury’s Kira Brunton, who is also even at 2-2. Brunton jumped in front 4-1 with four in the second, but Enge tied the match with a deuce in the seventh and picked up steals of one in the eighth and two in the ninth.
The top two women’s teams after round-robin play advance to Sunday’s final. The top three men’s teams advance to the playoffs, the first-place finisher earning a bye into the final, with the second-and third-place teams competing in the semifinal.
