A new tournament format led to a double-knockout finale.
The Tom Buchy rink out of Kimberley was able to come up with back-to-back wins over the Wes Craig rink from Kerry Park to capture Curl B.C.’s mixed championship on Sunday at the Nanaimo Curling Centre.
Buchy won the first game 8-7, needing a draw to the eight-foot to break the tie in the last end.
In the second game, Buchy said the turning point came in the sixth end, when his team trailed 3-1. He missed a draw for four, but still scored three to take the lead.
“Our team, we’ve been down a few times and managed to come back. We don’t get down, we just keep fighting hard,” said Buchy.
He said the event’s triple-knockout format required teams to get off to a good start and try to keep it rolling over four days to be in good position for the final.
“Overall we played very well. We got a few breaks and capitalized on opportunities,” said the winning skip.
He was joined by teammates Lori Buchy, Dave Toffolo and Robyn Toffolo. It’s the third time in seven years he’s won the B.C. title and said he looks forward to nationals in Montreal in November.
“We’re not a jump-up-and-down type of team, that’s just the way we are,” he said. “But it feels good. It’s exciting.”
He said the whole event was excellent, from the ice to the food to the people.
“It was a good, fun event and I’m not just saying that because we won; I would’ve said that if we’d lost,” said Buchy. “You felt the people here were good, you felt very comfortable coming in the building.”
ICE CHIPS … The Nanaimo Curling Centre’s focus is also on the Canadian Curling Association’s senior women’s championships, which got underway Saturday in Abbotsford. The Nanaimo club’s Penny Shantz rink started with a 7-6 win over New Brunswick but then lost 10-6 to Nova Scotia and 7-6 to Prince Edward Island.
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