There was a reduced number of games this past week in the Kootenay Savings Super League, as the weather forced Team Bartlett Excavating to postpone their game with Team Brian LeMoel.
It was a back and forth affair, with so many great shots made in the game between Team Darrin Albo from Rossland and the Castlegar Team skipped by Bill van Yzerloo. Team van Yzerloo got the jump early in the first, sitting four at one time, before Albo third Dennis Schlender ran a triple.
Related read: Albo storms back for big win over Lepine
Skip van Yzerloo responded with a perfect hit n roll behind cover, leading to a steal of one. Team van Yzerloo was looking to steal again in the second, but again Schlender came up with a super shot, a run back double take-out, that led to an Albo deuce.
Team van Yzerloo benefitted from a couple of Plan B shots in the third and fifth ends to put up two’s with their hammer, sandwiched around another Albo deuce in the fourth. Leading 5-4, Team van Yzerloo went three up in the sixth with a steal of two, when Skip Albo’s last rock draw slid too far.
It looked like the game was over in the seventh when Skip Bill made a delicate come around raise tap to the button to lie one, totally buried. But Skip Albo came up with arguably the shot of the year so far, when he threw a peel weight takeout onto a van Yzerloo stone in the top left 12-foot, which angled perfectly to the shot stone on the button, removing both, and leaving an Albo two spot, to be one down coming home without.
It was a tense eighth, with Skip van Yzerloo, facing three, calmly hitting and sticking for one and an 8-6 win.
Team Myron Nichol of Castlegar controlled the game over Team Les Lepine, starting with an open draw for two in the first. Skip Myron made a perfect wide pathed draw to the button in the second for a steal of one after Skip Lepine’s last rock run-back just missed.
Skip Les made a nice double take-out for one in the third. Team Nichol extended their lead with an open hit for two in the fourth, followed by Team Lepine putting up a deuce of their own in the fifth with an open draw for two. Team Lepine was in position to steal the sixth, sitting one covered on the button, before Skip Nichol made a delicate raise tap through a port, knocking the shot stone just far enough to score a big three, and a conceding 8-3 victory.
Team Ken Fines took on a depleted Team Nathan Small, missing Skip Small and third James McKenzie, as young Reese Whitehead stepped up, and took the reins on this night.
Again, it was one bad end that did in Team Fines. With most of the rocks in play, Skip Fines couldn’t find a clear path to the 4-foot, resulting in a Team Small steal of one in the first.
It was a defensive battle over the next three ends, with Team Fines being forced to take one in the second and fourth ends, and Team Small forced to one in the third. The game turned in Team Small’s favour in the fifth, with Skip Whitehead making a perfect cross-ice double take-out on his first, then after Skip Fines last rock draw clipped a guard, Reece made a free draw for four.
Team Small salted the game away with a steal of one in the sixth for an 8-2 win, that was much closer than the score indicated.
Related read: van Yzerloo takes round 1 in battle of last year’s top seeds
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