MCURL | Voyageurs Bow Out in OUA Quarterfinals
The Voyageurs men's curling team entered the OUA Championships in Sault Ste. Marie with their sights set on a top-four finish and a berth in the quarterfinals.
Their quest began in draw two against the Toronto Varsity Blues on Thursday afternoon and the men found themselves chasing the entire way. After giving up five in the first end, the team battled back but couldn't overcome their early deficit, falling 10-5. Draw four provided second opportunity to get into the win column but, after trading singles with the Western Mustangs for the first four ends, it was a three-ender for the Mustangs in the fifth end that would be the difference as the Voyageurs fell to 0-2, losing 6-3.
Day two started off eerily similar to day one as the UOIT Ridgebacks scored three in the opening end but this seemed to spark the Voyageurs as they would score two in the second end before stealing singles in the next two ends, three in the fifth and a pair in the sixth, en route to a 9-4 victory. Looking to carry their momentum into draw eight, found themselves up against a tough Ryerson Rams squad. Finding themselves down 3-1 heading into the fourth end break, the Voyageurs saw the Rams score a deuce in the fifth and then gave up a steal of five in the sixth to make the final 10-1.
Entering day three with just a single win under their belt and only one game on the day, the men found themselves in a must win situation when they squared off with the McMaster Marauders. The team left nothing to chance as they started the game with a deuce and proceeded to steal in the second, fifth and sixth ends, leading to a 6-0 victory and a 2-3 record.
Draw 13's mission was easy on Sunday morning; win and you are in. The men started with a deuce against the Laurier Golden Hawks before giving up a pair in the second. After blanking the third end, Tanner Horgan and crew grabbed a pair in the fourth, heading into the break with a 4-2 lead. The second half of the game played out to perfection as the men traded singles for doubles, leading to a 6-5 victory and a 3-3 record. With a trio of teams tied with a 3-3 record, the Voyageurs earned second place thanks to their draws to the button distance, thrown before each game in the round robin.
Their second place round robin finish earned the men a quarterfinal match-up with the Brock Badgers. After blanking the first end and forcing the Badgers to a single in the second, the Voyageurs were looking good but steals of one in the third and fourth ends gave the Badgers a 3-0 lead heading into the break. The men finally got on the board in the fifth with a single of their own but, after swapping singles in the sixth and seventh ends, the men were run out of rocks in the eighth and fell to the Badgers 4-2, bringing their OUA Championships to a close.