Advantage Bottcher in Alberta playdowns
Did Brendan Bottcher just win Alberta?
Did the Sherwood Park skip, with a steal in the 10th end to win 6-5 over Mick Lizmore in the all-Edmonton ‘A’ event final here Thursday, just become the first skip not named Randy Ferbey, Kevin Martin or Kevin Koe since 1999 to win the men’s provincial curling championship?
For the first six years and for seven of the last nine under the current triple-knockout format, the team that won the ‘A’ event final received the Boston Pizza Cup.
Until Martin won ‘A’ Event but lost the final to Kevin Koe in 2014, history said it’s all over. Done. Give ’em the pretty blue uniforms with the blue sky, the range of snow covered mountains, with green hills, a prairie and field of wheat coat of arms crest on the back? Hand Bottcher, Darren Moulding, Brad Theissen and Karrick Martin each a purple heart and a plane ticket to St. John’s, N.L. for the Brier.
Until 2014 not only did the team that won ‘A’ event win Alberta, it ran the table every season. And it happened again in 2015.
Last year, however, Charley Thomas won ‘A’, won the 1-2 playoff but lost to Koe in the final.
So there’s still a chance for the other 11 teams. But make no mistake: This is Bottcher’s to win.
“I think it’s great. Winning through ‘A’ really sets you up. It gives you some time off. It gives you the hammer in the 1-2 game Friday and it gives you a lot of control,” said Bottcher who leads the tournament in putting up deuces with eight.
The skip is off until the 1-2 game Saturday. Win that and he’s in Sunday’s final. Lose and he plays in Sunday’s semi. Bottcher watched Edmonton’s Ted Appelman run heavy looking at five on the ninth end to lose 9-3 Thursday morning.
Lizmore, who made it to the ‘A’ final last year and lost to Thomas, met the Calgary skip and his Edmonton Crestwood-based team in the Thursday morning ‘A’ event semifinal and had to use his last rock on the 10th end to win 7-6.
In ‘B’ event games last night, Thomas battled from behind to put Jeremy Harty’s young Calgary team away 9-6, Thomas Scoffin’s U of Alberta Golden Bears won 10-6 over Appelman and James Pahl of Edmonton, on his 47th birthday beat Aaron Sluchinski of Calgary 6-3.