First Two Teams Advance
November 13, 2009
- Article by Brad Norman
 Subscribe
Day two at the Road to the Roar saw two teams punch their ticket to the Olympic Trials. Team Webster and Team Stoughton both finished off their tournament with perfect records, keeping their Olympic dream alive.
Jeff Stoughton was looking for some redeption after the 2005 Olympic Trials. Stoughton lost the trials that year in the final match against Brad Gushue. It was a strange situation, where Stoughton was forced to eat his words after making a comment earlier in the week that Gushue's team "didn't belong" at the trials.
This year, however, Stoughton isn't counting anyone out. He knows that every team is potentially dangerous and has brought his best effort each game. The result was a perfect 3-0 record which moves him back to the trials for another shot at representing Canada at the Olympics.
In his final game of the Road to the Roar, Stoughton faced off against Saskatchewan's Pat Simmons.
These two elite teams did not disappoint, putting together a very tight game. They traded deuces throughout the first half of the game, heading into the fifth end break with a 4-4 tie.
The tie held up throughout regulation time, and the game was forced into an extra end, where Stoughton had the hammer. Stoughton played it safe, keeping the house clean and drawing in for a simple single point to inch ahead and win the game.
For Pat Simmons, his Olympic dream is far from over. He drops down to the B pool where he will face Wayne Middaugh.
One of the most surprising developments on day two of the pre-trials, was Ted Appleman's shocking upset of Brad Gushue.
Gushue was ranked 2nd in the CTRS standings heading into this week, while Appleman was far behind, in 11th place. Heading into the final end of this game, it looked as though Gushue would easily claim victory. The Newfoundlanders were leading 6-5 with the hammer in the tenth end. But everyone was shocked when Gushue's squad struggled in that last end, giving up a steal of two and losing the game 7-6.
This drops Gushue down to the C pool and puts him on his last leg. Gushue must now defeat Jean-Michel Menard in order to stay alive. One more loss will eliminate Gushue, ending his dream of returning to the Olympics.
|
