Team Horton Off To Provincials

Team Horton. Left to right, we have Katie Mitchell, Tamara Behnke, Julia Horton, and Haley Horton. These hard working young ladies played in the Bantam Regional this past weekend in Thessalon where they went 4 - 0 and will now advance to the provincial championship to be held at the Soo Curlers on January 30th. Great job by these wonderful young ladies.

This squad has been playing all season long in the leagues and practise all the time. Their success is much deserved. Great job by their longtime coach Lucy Ann Trudeau.

Two other girls Bantam, teams from the BRCC played in this competition as well. Team May and Team Lemieux. They are younger squads and although they did not qualify, they did get their feet wet and will fare much better next year. For them, it was all about the experience and that was the important thing.

The BRCC (and the Curling Chronic) wishes Team Horton every success at the provincials. Congratulations ladies. And congratulations to all the participating BRCC players!

SHOT OF THE WEEK: Martinique Lemieux. Facing 5 opposing stones in her team's first game, the Lemieux squad was in tough. Martinique was forced into playing a low percentage draw tap through a very narrow port to score one...which she did to the elation of her team and the spectators behind the glass.

In other news, The Thursday Mens League is winding down the first half of the season. There are quite a few teams hovering near the top of the leaderboard. It should make for a real interesting second half.

DOMINION CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS:  The BRCC will be holding playdowns for teams wanting to attend the Dominion Club Championships. This will be held in early March. If you want to enter your team, there is a sign up sheet for both mens and ladies teams on the board nearest to the bar.

STELLAR NIGHT: Team Astles. Last Thursday, Team Astles posted a convincing win over Team Zagar. With good shotmaking by all members of the team, the Astles crew were in control the whole way. Great job guys.

STILL GOIN' STRONG: The Molson Exers. They are still undefeated as far as I know. It has been an excellent season for these guys. Fun bunch to play against and they got game.

RED BUM AWARD: Team Ben Lemieux. Tough night playing against the Family Jules, and former teammate Robin St Jules. The Robb Road Express could not deal with the red hot shot making by all members of the Family Jules. This St Jules crew is newly formed this year and they have made quite a splash. Kudos to these guys.

STILL LOOKIN' LIKE THE TEAM TO BEAT: Team Mitchell. Still way up there in the standings, Team Mitchell continues to be a strong presence on the ice. Certainly a tough team to knock off. Can they win the club championship yet again? Lots of teams with the potential to prevent it but it will take an "A" game to do it.

MAINSTAY FOR THE BRCC: Ricky Albert. Always there to help the BRCC in so many ways, Rick Albert conti nues to be a golden bot for the BRCC. He helps with the ice and around the club. Always there to help...what an asset. Thanks alot Rick.

HEATIN' HIS GRIDDLE: Ron Forest. Looks like Ron will be heading up the culinary crew that will be cooking the supper at the Ladies' Spiel. This news is awesome. Ron and his crew have a great penchant for whippin' up the vittles and I am sure that the ladies will be lickin' their chops when Ron gets to cookin' on that weekend. Thanks alot Ron...well done!

CURLING UP A STORM: Rick Roberts. Rick Roberts has been a BRCC member for a number of years now and he is no slouch. He is out there twice a week sendin' em down the sheet. He can make alot of shots and always is an asset to whatever squad he is playing for.

ROCK SOLID: Adam Valiquette. Adam is no stranger to the game. He can make alot of good shots. He has a solid delivery and has alot of focus in the the game. This guy improves with every game and it won't be long until you see Adam with a squad of his own and handing out Red Bum Awards.

NEVER TO BE COUNTED OUT: Brady Spencer. I played against Brady the other night. He throws a great rock and he certainly makes alot of shots. He is not the loudest player on the ice but he can certainly inflict alot of pain when he lays his shots down. Excellent improvement with this guy.

ROCK SOLID VICE: Gator Fortin. If you have ever played against Dave Mitchell, you will have to had felt the grief inflicted by Gator when it is his turn to throw. He is an excellent curler and a heck of a great guy. Always smiling and always calm, cool and collected. And dealing out the pain as well. Certainly one of the best thirds in the league.

LOVIN' THE BRCC: Me! This club is awesome. The games are fun as are the leagues. I have so many good friends at that club, I look forward to spending my evenings there. Great people in a great club playing a great game. Hard gig to beat!

29 DAYS: To the Continental Cup of Curling in Vegas. There are 14 of us going from the BRCC. What a great time this promises to be. And what's more, looks like Team Jacobs will be there. It's all good!

Rock On!

The Curling Chronic

More Bits And Bites From A Curling Chronic

Abby Hagger. She epitomizes the idiom, "small but effective". Abby has been in the Junior Curling program for some years now and this year, she will play in her first Regional playdown...coming up this weekend in Thessalon. This is an exciting time for her and I wish her every success. She might be small alright, but I can tell you this this little titan knows excellent draw weight and throws a mean takeout. I should know...I played against her and her folks last night and got handed a Red Bum Award. Abby was a big part of this. In the lead position, she threw her guards up without fail and when asked for a takeout, she made em'. I was blown away by her impressive performance. Take a good look because she is part of the future of junior curling. I know now that this future is in good hands! Kudos to this mighty mite!

RETURN OF THE PRODIGAL CURLER: Sue St Jules. With her travelling behind her, Sue was out sparing this past Monday in the Mixed League. It was great to see this longtime BRCC pal back on the sheets. Sue is looking to spare some more so if you need a player, give Sue a call. She is a wonderful lady and excellent fun to be around.

SOLID: Nicole Mutch. Nicole was playing in the vice position this past Monday. It may well have been the first time playing a back end position and she put on a solid performance. Nicole has embraced the Roaring Game and it shows in her play. Great job!

RECOVERING: Sandy Milroy. With an injury to his leg, Sandy was using a stick for the past few weeks. But this past Monday, Sandy was out and sliding again. Great to see him getting over his sore leg and back in the hack. Sandy is a true curling chronic. In spite of an injury, he was unwilling to take a hiatus from the game and grabbed a stick. He's another of those BRCC mainstays.

INCREDIBLE NATURAL: Wendy Smith. I was watching Wendy slide during her game Monday night. I could not help but notice how solid her delivery has become. Wendy is truly a natural and she has certainly come into her own. I guess the Curling Bug bit hard because the metamorphosis is all but complete and Wendy is too far gone to retreat from the Roaring Game. Excellent progress!

WHAT A MARVEL: Natalie Bray. Good heavens...this gal got big time game. Natalie can throw a draw or a takeout with equal enthusiasm. She has honed her talents. She may not say alot on the ice, but she certainly makes her presence known with her curling talents.

BANTAM REGIONALS THIS WEEKEND IN THESSALON: Three teams will be heading to the Bantam Regionals this weekend from the BRCC. Those are: Team Horton, Team May and Team Lemieux. Junior curling is alive and well at the BRCC. There are also two teams from Sault Ste Marie and a team from Eliott Lake. Two teams will come from this playdown and make their way to the provincials. I am hoping that at least one of these teams comes from the BRCC. Looking for something to do this weekend, how about coming down to the Thessalon Curling Club and showing some support for our Bantam curlers. Good luck to all three teams. Enjoy the experience!

SPECIAL THANKS: Thanks alot to Team Horton for the shirt they gave me last night. It reads ion the front: You Go, Glencoco. Thanks girls..it means alot.


Rock On!

The Curling Chronic

Jacobs Onward to Sochi

So, I was wrong about Howard. Who was that impostor! With a record of 2 - 5, who would have thought it! But, it was not in the cards for the Howard squad and that became obvious midweek and by the end of the week, it was all Jacobs. Going into the final game with an outstanding 7 - 0 record, nobody was more over the moon than I was.

These guys were lights out! All week. And in the end, it was Team Jacobs heading to the Olympics. And they deserve it too. All the hard work and dedication...this is what it yields. A great day for Soo Curlers and a great day for Northern Ontario curling. And yes Maymar, I did a couple of cartwheels around the living room when the final game was over.

I can remember playing against Jacobs a few times on the Northern Ontario Curling Tour and in regional playdowns. While we sat at our table having a quick beverage before going on the ice, the boys were at the bar choking down a quick protein shake. And that is the difference. They made a commitment and they made some goals and achieved success. What a wonderful accomplishment for this young crew! And I will go on to say that Ryan Fry made such a great addition to this squad. As well, I was really happy to see Caleb Flaxey as their fifth since he was there in the beginning with these guys. And kudos to Tom Coulterman, the coach of Team Jacobs. You can be sure that Tom has brought lots to this squad and I am happy to see that he is a part of this Olympic dream.

I was looking at the teams going to the Olympics from all the other countries. These are all teams that Jacobs has beaten for the most part and I fully expect that these guys will medal. In fact, a gold medal is a very real possibility for these guys.

In other news, Maymar and Al Gemmell played in the US National Mixed Doubles in Wisconsin just last week. I was away in Barrie, working for the week but I thought of them several times and wondered how they were making out. As it was, they went 4 - 3. Not enough for a berth in the finals but certainly an outstanding showing all the same. It is difficult not to be proud of this couple. They have made so many worthwhile contributions to curling over the years, the list would be too long to mention. We, at the BRCC, should be so proud to have them associated with our club. Two absolutely first class people and certainly huge assets to our little club.

It's nice to be back and I'll be having my first game in over a week tonight. I'm stoked. I am not a fan of being away from the Roaring Game for any length of time and certainly I miss the BRCC and my curling pals when I am on the road. Not a surprise really...the BRCC is an awesome club and after the Xmas break, there will be lots of action at the club. The Ladies, The Mixed and the Mens Closing all loom ahead...and we all know what kind of a good time come with those events....and if you don't, well...you need to join curling and find out!

Rock On!

The Curling Chronic