Competing in the Alberta stick curling final was a bigger surprise than actually winning the championship for the successful St. Albert duo.
“We didn't expect to be here,” said Bob McKenzie as partner Bob Lee nodded his head in agreement.
“We wondered if we really should’ve come here to begin with, but we said let’s give it a try and here we are,” said Lee after Sunday’s 3-0 decision against Larry and Judy Lafleur as the two Bobs finished 7-1 in the two-person open provincials hosted by the St. Albert Curling Club.
“We beat a lot of teams we fully respected and admired what they could do,” said Lee, 78. “We got lucky.”
A six-game heater to end provincials brought the two closer together as a team.
“We got stronger as the games went on,” said McKenzie, 72. “We never really played that much before together and everybody plays different so we decided to practise, practise, practise and go for it.
“It was a lot of fun and I had a great partner, too.”
The result proved a point, according to McKenzie.
“It means anybody can beat anybody anytime.”
The Lafleurs were also caught off guard by their unexpected showing as a late replacement in the 24-team draw.
“We’ve never curled in a competition like this together before,” said Larry, noting the husband and wife tandem from Edmonton had curled only eight games in the St. Albert stick league before Christmas.
“We just started this,” said Larry, 71. “I had probably played 30 games of stick curling in my life and I still curl the regular (four-person) way so this is still pretty new.”
Naturally, he credited Judy, 66, for the team’s 5-3 record as provincial finalists.
“She carried me all weekend.”
The final boiled down to Larry’s last shot with hammer against two counters in close range of each other on opposite sides of the centre line and positioned in front of the T-line in the 12- and eight-foot ring areas.
The Lafleurs also had a rock behind the T-line so a double with the shooter staying would force an extra end.
“I would say I missed it on the front rock by less than a quarter of inch,” Larry said. “I thought I had enough of it.
“The angle was a little less steeper than I thought it was.”
Lee was poised to sweep any of the opposition’s rocks out of harm’s way as Larry’s delivery slowly slid its way down the ice and Judy's sweeping gave it an extra boost toward the rings.
“I was hoping he would roll over like he did,” Lee said. "He had to just touch a quarter of (the first rock) it to get it and he got about a third of it.”
The result was a steal of one and handshakes.
In stick curling, games are six ends with six rocks per team per end with no sweeping between the hog lines.
Each stone must be delivered with a curling stick from a standing position or in a wheelchair.
Blanked ends
The final started with the Lees blanking the first end against an empty house and McKenzie did the same in two, facing a biter to keep the rings clear of rocks.
The second end also featured a double-takeout by Larry with his fifth delivery and a bing-bang shot to grab a piece of the 12-foot with his sixth and last attempt.
In the third end, the teams showed off their draw-making skills with July and Lee trading precise shots around the button.
Judy’s last rock was dragged in by Larry for second shot while also taking away a possible multiple-point end from the two Bobs.
After a brief mid-ice chat with McKenzie, Lee played it safe with the hammer and instead of getting greedy he boarded the throw to score the first point of the final.
With their last shots in four, McKenzie was looking at a counter by the Lafleurs when he nicked a guard and rolled to the four-foot for shot rock.
Larry then tried a hit-and-stick for two with the hammer but missed the target by the slimmest of margins to surrender a steal of one as the game-changing point.
“We decided to blank some ends and go for it,” McKenzie said. “We got two points and I’m not sure how we got them.”
Lee kept it clean as possible in five against any counters by the Lafleurs. His last throw chipped out the only rock in the house and Judy opted to blank with the hammer instead of drawing for one while trailing by two.
“It was a great game and close all the way, but unfortunately we let it get away when I fanned a wide open hit in the fourth end for two,” Larry said.
In the semifinals, both teams knocked off the last two provincial champions by identical 3-2 scores.
The Lafleurs needed to steal one in six to defeat Dennis Fitzgerald and Ryan Meyer of Morinville. The 2018 provincial winners, and 2014 Canadian finalists when nationals were staged in St. Albert, counted a deuce in two and the Lafleurs tied it at two in three.
The two Bobs bested Randy and Ruby Olson of St. Albert with a deuce in five that left the 2019 champions and 2018 finalists scrambling for the equalizer down 3-1, but settled for one.
“We surprisingly won,” Lee said. “It was another game where both teams were waiting for a mistake.”
Full house
Provincials consisted of four pools of six teams each to determine the qualifiers in the eight-team championship and 16-team consolation brackets.
The Lafleurs and Olsons were among four teams at 3-2 in pool C and the two Bobs were 4-1 along with Mark Hughes and Joe Laplante of St. Albert in pool D.
Tiebreakers were based on the closest to the pin measurements for each team in Friday’s provincial opener.
Pool play scores included 5-2 for Hughes and Laplante against the eventual champions and 7-3 for the Olsons against the Lafleurs.
The majority of the provincial participants are active in the stick scene in the St. Albert and Morinville curling clubs.
“A lot of people are stick curling now who wouldn’t be able to curl otherwise. It’s extended the life of a lot of old curlers or a lot of curlers whose knees are gone. It's great,” Larry said.
Lee, a retired computer program analyst with the federal government and the grandfather of five, started using the stick about nine years ago while McKenzie was introduced to the delivery device by Milt McDougall of St. Albert while gradually easing into the stick league format through the St. Albert 50-plus Mixed Curling Leagues on Tuesdays and Fridays.
"There is about 150 to 200 people stick curling in St. Albert,” said McKenzie, a retired chartered professional accountant and grandfather of eight. “The stick league is great for me and it’s great for a lot of my friends, but most importantly it’s great for a lot of friendships.”
McKenzie and McDougall teamed up to win the 2014 Sturling two-person stick provincials (curlers in Sturling can throw from the hack as well as use a stick) and the presentation of the fourth annual Alberta Stick Curling Champions trophy, sponsored by McDougall and his wife, June, marked a special moment for McKenzie.
“We’re lucky to have Milt,” McKenzie said. “He’s actually coached myself and Bob. He’s helped us a lot.”
McKenzie will now head to his former stomping grounds in Regina with Lee in tow for the Canadian championships. The 48-team tournament runs April 6 to 9.
“It’s exciting because we’ll be wearing the Alberta jackets,” said Lee, who was raised in McLennan. “It really hasn’t sunk in yet that we’re going.”
