The Doug McLennan rink kept its championship-winning streak alive in Friday’s sudden death final in the mixed playoffs at the St. Albert Curling Club.
The Award Windows foursome needed only four ends to mercy Dave Klatchuk 8-2 for their fourth mixed title in a row. They were also the 2006 finalists.
“It’s definitely awesome that we can pull off another one,” second rocker Colin Jenkyns told the Gazette after the short but sweet victory. “We’ve got to keep up with the men’s and ladies’ club champions. They keep winning so we have to too.”
McLennan, third Alison Howes and the front-end duo of Jenkyns and Ashley Ferguson will join the Jamie King rink (five-time men’s champions) and the Kathy Piper rink (four-time ladies’ champions) as St. Albert’s reps at next month’s Tournament of Champions at Jasper Place.
“It’s good to get back to cities. We kind of struggled a bit last year so hopefully we can crank it up this year,” Jenkyns said.
The fourth trip to cities in as many years for the Thursday night league team ended with a 5-3 loss to Don Bridgewater’s Jasper Place rink in the semifinal qualifier. The previous three cities saw McLennan’s crew eliminated in the semifinals.
“Everybody is really competitive at cities. You’re playing the top level curlers in all of Edmonton and area so you’ve always got to bring your A game and if you’re just not quite on they’re going to capitalize,” Jenkyns said. “Sometimes it’s a little bit different when you’re playing in the clubs. You come up against some weaker teams but once you’re there you definitely have to step up your play.”
In the double-knockout playoff draw McLennan and company were expected to go the distance until Klatchuk pulled off the upset of the season with a stunning 8-2 decision in five ends Thursday.
It was only the second loss of the season for McLennan and the first since late October, when Frank Lane’s rink shot the lights out in the A semifinal of the Mixed Harvest Classic Bonspiel in St. Albert.
“We were basically a little more refreshed today than we were [Thursday],” Jenkyns said. “We were due for a bad one, I guess you could say, so we can’t really complain. Obviously we would’ve loved to finish it off last night but they played exceptionally well and sometimes that’s just the case; you get outplayed by a better team, right?”
In the eight-team draw McLennan won the A bracket, which meant Klatchuk had to beat him twice in the final for the coveted title. Klatchuk, winner of the B bracket, was halfway to the promise land when the roof caved in on his Friday night league team in the rematch. McLennan’s rink, anchored by Nicole Bellamy as the spare for the absent Ferguson in the finals, got off to a blazing start as the veteran skip drew for four in the first with the hammer. The big end was set up by a slick shot by Howes.
A steal of two in the next end sealed Klatchuk’s fate. His tired-looking team of third Maureen Forbes, second Bob Forbes and lead Janice Klatchuk (Karen Stephen filled in for Janice in Friday’s playoff) were curling in their fifth game in three days and the seventh of the weeklong playoffs.
“We caught a couple of breaks in the first end, which was kind of nice to get it going, and we never really looked back from there,” Jenkyns said.
With five consecutive appearances in the final (Warren Sadoway was the last skip to beat McLennan for playoff honours in 2006), McLennan’s talented line-up will go down in club history as one of the very best ever assembled.
“Communication has definitely been the key over the years. We’re always in synch with one another. Obviously when that breaks down we don’t do quite as well but you can’t be perfect every time,” said Jenkyns, 24, a tenacious sweeper with pinpoint shooting accuracy. “We’re friends on and off the ice too and that definitely works to our advantage. We’re also having fun out there and that’s what curling is all about.”
HOG LINES: Wilf Gunderson’s young mixed rink won the manager’s cup in Friday’s sudden-death final despite giving up a steal of one in the first end when he was looking to hit and stick for six with last shot.
