Week # 9 - MAKE IT 4 WINS FOR TEAM MIKE MCEWEN IN 2014/15

The winning ways continue for the team from Winnipeg MB!  The continue to dominate the competition by winning their 4th consecutive title in 4 events to start the 2014/15 curling season, this time winning the Challenge Chateau Cartier de Gatineau in Gatineau QC.

The team qualifed A side winning their 4 games to reach the playoffs.

On Sunday, the team won their quarterfinal matchup by default when Mark Dacey of NS opted to fly home instead of playing their game.

In the semi finals, it was an all Hardline Curling battle with Team McEwen facing their MB counterparts Team Reid Carruthers.  In a see-saw offensive battle, McEwen took 2 in the 1st with hammer.  Carruthers countered with a 3 ender in the 2nd, and McEwen fought back with a 4 in the 3rd end.  Carruthers took a deuce in the 4th end to trail 6-5.  After a 5th end blank, McEwen sealed the game with a 3 in the 6th to win 9-5.

In the finals, McEwen played Team Jean-Michel Menard from QC in a tight game.  McEwen was held to 1 in the 1st, and then stole 1 in the 2nd after a Menard double takeout attempt failed.  A blank in 3rd led to Menard taking a single in the 4th.  McEwen and Menard traded deuces in the 5th and 6th.  McEwen then scored a single in the 7th to take a 5-3 lead, and were able to run Menard out of rocks in the 8th.

Team McEwen has started the season with an astounding 28 wins and 1 loss record after 4 events.  They are definitely the hottest curling team on the planet at the moment, and will be the favorites heading into the first Grand Slam event of the season, the Masters in Selkirk MB from Oct 28 to Nov 2.  

Hardline Curling Week # 8 (Oct 17-20,2014) Recap - TEAM MIKE MCEWEN WINS AGAIN!

McEWEN WINS AGAIN!

The highlight men's event for Week # 8 on the World Curling Tour was the Canad Inns Men's Curling Classic.  The event has been won by Team Mike McEwen 3 of the last 4 years.

Make that 4 of the last 5 years!!!  Team Mike McEwen earns their 3rd event win of the season in as many events winning the Canad Inns Men's Curling Classic in Portage la Prairie MB.  McEwen won their 1st game, then lost their 2nd game dropping them to the B event.  From there, they beat some world class teams such as including Brad Jacobs, John Epping, and Steve Laycock to qualify B-side!

In the playoffs, they won a quarterfinal battle against Morozumi of Japan by a score of 8-6.  In the semis, McEwen defeated Willie Lyburn 7-2.

In the finals, McEwen played Kevin Koe.  Koe got off to an early lead with a deuce in the 1st and a steal of one in the 2nd to go up 3-0.  McEwen came back in the 3rd end with a 3 of their own after a couple of uncharacteristic misses by Team Koe.  In the 4th end, McEwen forced the issue and stole a 2 to take a 5-3 lead.  After a blank in the 5th end, Koe went for a double takeout in the 6th end to score 3 and take the lead, but he missed and scored only 1. McEwen took 1 in the 7th to lead 6-4 going to the 8th end.  Koe got some rocks in play, but McEwen 3rd BJ Neufeld made a spectacular double takeout to end any threat and Team McEwen went on to the win!

After 3 events, Team McEwen's record is a spectacular 21 wins and only 1 loss.   Up next for them is the Gatineau event Oct 24-27, and then the first Grand Slam event of the year in Selkirk the weekend after that!

TEAM HARDLINE RECAP

The Canad Inns Men's Classic was a first for Team Hardline.  Of the 31 teams playing the event, Hardline was represented by SIX teams - Mike McEwen, Reid Carruthers, Brock Virtue, John Shuster, Steve Irwin, and playing in their first event with the icePad was Jared Kolomaya.  Carruthers, Virtue, and Kolomaya made it to "C" event qualifier games, with Kolomaya winning and qualifying for playoffs!  A nice start with the icePad for Kolomaya!  After losing the quarterfinals to Glenn Howard, Kolomaya took to Twitter and wrote:

In Kamloops BC, Team Dean Joanisse and Team Grant Dezura both qualified for playoffs in the Hub International Crown of Curling event.  Joanisse lost the quarterfinals to eventual winner Brent Pierce, and Dezura lost the semifinals to Dean Geall.  Great showing for two Hardline teams!

Over in Europe, Team Silvana Tirinzoni played in the European curling trials to represent Switzerland in the European Championships.  Tirinzoni qualified for the best of 3 finals against Binia Feltscher, but lost the finals.  Next up for Tirinzoni is the Grand Slam MASTERS event in Selkirk MB October 28-November 2nd.

TEAM CARRUTHERS WINS STU SELLS TORONTO / TEAM TIRINZONI FINALISTS IN BASEL / OCT 9-13 RECAP

Thanksgiving Weekend in Canada was a busy weekend for Team Hardline all around the world!

Congrats go to Team Reid Carruthers on winning their first WCT event at the Stu Sells Toronto Tankard beating big nameteams such as Glenn Howard, Brad Gushue and finally Brad Jacobs in the finals!  We hope this is the first of many wins for the newly formed team of Braeden Moskowy, Derek Samagalski and Colin Hodgson!  Here's a photo of the team with the winning trophy courtesy of Gerry Geurts and Curling Zone!

Also qualifying for playoffs in Toronto was the team of John Shuster from the USA!  They are one of the latest teams to make the switch to the icePad and Hardline Curling.  

Over in Basel Switzerland, Team Silvana Tirinzoni played in the Women's Masters and were finalists of the event losing out to fellow Swiss team Team Binia Feltscher.  Team Tirinzoni is a recent addition to Team Hardline and we look forward to many wins from them this season!

In Halifax NS, Hardline supporters Team Emily Dwyer won the Skyy Vodka Cashspiel beating Mary Anne Arsenault in the finals!  Congratulations ladies!

Stay tuned for more updates in the weeks ahead!  

2nd WIN FOR TEAM MCEWEN of 2014/15 AT POINT OPTICAL CURLING CLASSIC

WHAT A GREAT START TO THE SEASON!

Team Mike McEwen continued their great early season start with their 2nd event win in as many starts, winning the Point Optical Curling Classic in Saskatoon the weekend of Sept. 26-29, 2014.

The team of Mike McEwen, BJ Neufeld, Matt Wozniak, and Denni Neufeld went 6-0 to continue their great start to the season.  They also went undefeated in Oakville, bringing their season record to a perfect 13-0.

The POCC fielded a great  lineup of world class teams including Jacobs, Gushue, Epping, Edin, Koe, Stoughton, and Carruthers.

Team McEwen beat Clark, Laycock, and deCruz to qualify "A" side, and then went on to beat Koe in the quarters, Gushue in the semis, and then John Epping in a repeat of the Oakville final to win their 2nd event of the season.

Congratulations Team Mike McEwen!