McCarville rink edges Hackner foursome in Major League of Curling final

Al Hackner made Mike McCarville sweat a little on Saturday.

The two-time world champion scored a pair in the seventh end to tie their Men’s Major League of Curling final 4-4, then had McCarville’s foursome on the ropes in the eighth.

But Jordan Potter made a shot Hackner himself would be proud of, a double raise double to all but clear the rings and McCarville then made a simple draw with his final stone to clinch the win at Port Arthur Curling Club, his fifth Major League title.

“It was a great game,” said McCarville, capturing his first title as team skip.

“To actually play against Hack in the final, it was awesome.”

McCarville, whose foursome includes Potter, lead Steve Whitehurst and third Joe Scharf, said it was Potter’s shot that made the difference.

“He made a beauty on his second one, it cleared the whole (rings),” he said. “We were in trouble. They had one on the button and a bunch of guards and he made everything go away. That made the job a lot easier for me.”

The two sides blanked the first two ends, with McCarville forced to take a single point in the third for an early 1-0 lead.

But the Hackner rink, which also includes Frank Morissette, Kris Leupen and Gary Champagne, stuck back in the fourth, an end that could have been even more lucrative.

McCarville, playing without the hammer, came up short on his final shot, leaving Hackner a draw for three. But his shot was heavy and he had to settle for a pair, taking a 2-1 lead.

After blanking the fifth, Hackner hit and rolled out on his last rock, leaving McCarville a draw for three.

“That was a big end. We went hard in that end. We were down one, knowing we needed at least a two. So we put the corner guards up and got a couple of good rolls and a couple of breaks that end. The three was huge,” McCarville said.

Hackner made a hit-and-stick for a pair in the seventh to knot up the finale.

For Scharf, it was also a fifth Major League title win.

“For the amount of time we put into this and the amount of fun we had out on the ice. It’s great,” Scharf said.

It wouldn’t have been Hackner if he hadn’t made them work for it, he added.

“He always seems to be a magician, come late in any game,” Scharf said. “I played with him for a couple of years and the shots that he pulled out when it counted was unbelievable.”

The McCarville and Hackner rinks each finished 9-2 during round-robin play this season.