Hometown clubs hope to break Classic drought
After a few days rest, the World Curling Tour is sweeping and hollering back into Saskatoon.
The WCT, which hit Saskatoon for a women’s event last weekend, is turning the Nutana Curling Club ice over to the men.
Twenty-four teams are in town for the four-day College Clean Restoration Curling Classic, which begins Friday and wraps up Monday.
Here’s what you need to know.
CAN SASKATOON TEAMS BREAK THE DROUGHT?
A Saskatoon-based team hasn’t won the Classic since Eugene Hritzuk in 2008. His was the last of three straight wins by Saskatoon quartets — Randy Woytowich (2007) and Brian Humble (2006) also pulled it off — but since then, the annual event has been won by teams from Kindersley (Brad Heidt, 2009), Winnipeg, Toronto and Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.
Overall, teams from Winnipeg have won five of the last seven titles.
Last year, reigning Olympic champion Brad Jacobs, from Sault Ste. Marie, beat Norway’s Thomas Ulsrud 6-3 in the Classic final. Neither are back in 2017.
IN THE FIELD
This year’s 24-team field includes five squads from outside the country, including three off the continent. Seattle’s Brady Clark is in Saskatoon as is 2006 Olympic bronze-medallist John Shuster from Duluth, Minn.
Also in town are two teams from South Korea — Kim ChangMin and Kim Soo-hyuk — and a Japanese foursome skipped by Yusuke Morozumi.
Saskatoon’s Steve Laycock is back in the field with a newlook team that includes Matt Dunstone at second. Colton Flasch, who played with Laycock through last season, is skipping his own team at the Classic.
Other Saskatoon-based teams are skipped by Carson Ackerman, Mitchell Dales, Jason Jacobson, Rylan Kleiter and Travis Tokarz. Kleiter, who also plays football with the Saskatoon Hilltops, is injured and will use a spare this weekend.
BIG NAMES
John Morris, who won an Olympic gold medal with Kevin Martin in 2010, is skipping a Vernon, B.C.-based team with Jim Cotter throwing fourth rocks.
Winnipeg skips Reid Carruthers and Mike McEwen, who are ranked Nos. 4 and 5 respectively on the Order of Merit, are also in town as is Pat Simmons.
McEwen won Classic titles in 2011, 2014 and 2015.
PLAYING THE DRAW
Action starts Friday with eight games at 2 p.m. and another draw at 6 p.m.
Two A-event finals will be played Saturday at 4 p.m., two B-finals Sunday at 1:30 p.m. and four C-finals Sunday at 5 p.m.