The John Morris rink walked off the Banff Curling Club ice $19,000 richer after Kevin Koe’s last shot in the eighth end of the Pinty’s All-Star Curling Skins Game went awry, Saturday (Jan. 17).
The John Morris rink walked off the Banff Curling Club ice $19,000 richer after Kevin Koe’s last shot in the eighth end of the Pinty’s All-Star Curling Skins Game went awry, Saturday (Jan. 17).
In a semifinal battle of the two Alberta rinks broadcast on TSN, Koe had the hammer in the eighth end and, with Morris sitting with two rocks in the four foot, a Koe attempt at a hit and roll onto the button picked up some debris and was lost; allowing Morris to steal the $19,000 available.
At the time, in the eighth end, Koe led $2,000 to $0 over Morris after he made a double takeout with the hammer in the second end.
The Pinty’s event is the second to be held at the Banff club and features eight of the top teams in Canadian curling. With the Banff club’s four sheets of ice reduced to one for the Skins Game, spectators were treated to an up close and personal event.
Fans are just five metres from the playing surface at the Pinty’s event, very close to the curlers calling and making shots, banter between players and fans, TSN personality Brian Mudryk’s in-arena commentary and viewing on large screen TVs. It all allows for top level viewing of some of the best rinks in the world.
During the Koe versus Morris match, both skips showed the lighter side of the game as they took time to purchase 50/50 tickets mid-game and in the fifth end, Morris polled the crowd for its opinion on what shot to call. After urging a double takeout, Morris’ third Pat Simmons made the shot to the delight of the crowd.
In Friday’s (Jan. 16) opening game which pitted Ontario’s Rachel Homan rink against Alberta’s Val Sweeting in a rematch of last year’s Scotties Tournament of Hearts final (Homan was victorious) a much closer match resulted in an $11,000 to $10,000 victory for Homan. The win earned the Ontario foursome a spot in the Sunday women’s final.
Also on Saturday, Olympic gold medalist Jennifer Jones faced Chelsea Carey in a battle of Manitoba rinks in a 2 p.m. game, while Olympic gold medalist Brad Jacobs of Sault Ste. Marie faced Manitoba’s Mike McEwen at 7 p.m.
The Sunday finals, which will be broadcast by TSN, will feature the women at 1 p.m. and the men at 6 p.m. Both games are mountain time.
