There’s no doubting Thomas in Alberta playdowns
WESTLOCK All Charley Thomas wanted was the one-two game and another chance. He wasn’t rocked by losing to Mick Lizmore in Thursday’s A event semi, but he would have been if he’d lost to Lizmore again in Friday’s Boston Pizza Cup B event final.
“If you’re in that one-two game, you have a very real chance to win it,” said Thomas, the Calgary skip of the Edmonton Crestwood team.
Thomas defeated Lizmore in the B event final 10-6, punching a ticket to Saturday’s game against A event winner Brendan Bottcher of the Edmonton Saville Centre team.
Last year, Thomas won the one-two game against Calgary’s Kevin Koe and then lost the getto-the-Brier game against Koe on Sportsnet. He’s taking nothing for granted.
“Making a Brier for me would be pretty amazing,” he said. “Since I came out of juniors, it’s been what I’ve been trying to do.”
It was just assumed when Thomas was winning back-to-back world junior championships, the second one curling out of Edmonton, he’d have been in a bunch of Briers by now, and maybe even won a couple.
Last year he lost the final to Koe, who went on to win the Brier and the Worlds.
Thomas has had an assortment of lineups over the years, but has settled in with a pair of Edmonton curlers — Nathan Connolly and Brandon Klassen — in the middle of his lineup with Craig Savill, returning from a cancer scare after 11 trips to the Brier in Ontario, playing lead.
Thomas has been on an adventure all week. On Thursday, he jumped on Lizmore for three in the third end to take a 4-1 lead, then gave the three back in the following end. Thomas put it away with another three on the ninth.
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 an A event semifinal and had to use his last rock on the 10th end to win 7-6.
After Lizmore and his Edmonton Saville Centre team of Dylan Vavrek, Carter Lautner and Brad Chyz had sent Thomas to the B event, the rink lost the A final to Bottcher on Thursday evening.
Thomas and Lizmore advanced to the B final with wins in the Friday afternoon draw.
Thomas won a 9-7 victory over Edmonton’s Thomas Scoffin and Lizmore sent Edmonton veteran James Pahl, who celebrated his 47th birthday Thursday, to the C event with a 6-4 decision.
The day began with Roland Robinson of Manning, Graham Powell of Grande Prairie and Jamie King of Edmonton going 0-3, eliminated before noon Friday morning.
Ted Appelman’s Edmonton team — which faces Lizmore Saturday — went out and bought Oilers jackets to wear at the event this year. Not jerseys — sweaters. They’re blue with orange stripes down the arms.
“We’re all big Oilers fans,” said the skip, who wears Ryan NugentHopkins’s No. 93 on his back.
Brother Ted, the third, has No. 97 for Connor McDavid.
The other two members of the team, Shawn Donnelly and Adam Enright, chose No. 27 for Milan Lucic and No. 14 for Jordan Eberle.