This was the second game of the season for both teams and more than that for some individuals playing with the VETS CC.  So, the cobwebs should have been well blown away by now.  Not that you would know it by the way the game progressed.  There were a number of high scoring ends which pointed to a certain unpredictability to the standard of play by both teams.  In the end though it was the five points dropped in end three that did for Team MacConnachie – try as they might it was a blow from which they would not recover.

Team MacConnachie was all present and correct – no substitutes.  The three-handed Team Garner had enlisted Donny, playing at lead, to make up the full complement.  Things started well for Team Mac with a two, despite wayward shots from both teams as they struggled with weight.  Then Team Garner fought back with a single in the second.

But the third end was the disaster for Team MacConnachie.  As the end progressed Team Garner managed to clear the few stones team B had got near the button, leaving their skip to guard the openings.  Five shots against is painful (see my report on our first Province game – External Fixtures!) and a blow to team confidence.

Although bloodied, they remained unbowed. As the game continued it was notably Team MacConnachie’s lead, Dave Dunsire, who was on excellent form.  In the next end his stones provided a solid groundwork for the team to claw back a valuable three to bring them to within a point of their rivals. 

After that though it seemed Team MacConnachie’s solid front end performance was not being capitalised on. Another three stones sat against them in the fifth, and then despite recovering a single in the sixth, this was matched by Team Garner in the final end.  A good result for Team Garner, pleased to have played two, won two.

John.

This was the first time back on the ice for most of us this season, but from the high standard of play in this tight match you’d not have known.

Each team had one sub playing lead, and team D won the toss, so Gill led off for Team C playing blue stones.  It developed with tight counters in the 4-foot, but the yellows didn’t need the last stone to get 1 point on the scoresheet.  Second end again saw good early draw shots from Steve and Billy, and it ended with a open spread of stones but two yellow counters.

The third end accumulated a tight mix of stones to the right of the 4-foot, with a clear blue counter, but it took a measure to tell it was a score of two (not three) to blue.

Next, shooting back towards the pavilion, again a close grouping developed, and in the end it took nice teamwork to get a well-weighted last stone swept through a tight port to nudge in for a single yellow.

And so likewise the next ends each came down to single points, going with the hammer.  The best shot was from Billy, a curving double take-out simultaneously sending blue stones away left and right, importantly clearing blues away in the tight final end.  So, Team D did hold that slender lead all the way from first to last, to get the season off to a very competitive start.

Rob.

Team Craig off to a blistering start. Team MacConnachie have an evening to forget, although with two subs, there is plenty of time for the true form of a fully-gelled team to show.