Canadian curling legend Russ Howard and his rink of third Daniel Selke, second Mat Ring and lead Scott Deck took a 6-3 victory over Regina Highland’s Samuel Wills in the A Pool semifinal on Sunday afternoon. Howard -- the two-time Canadian and World champion and TSN commentator -- is the regular coach for the rink and is filling in for son Steven this weekend.
They’ll take on Saskatoon Sutherland’s Rylan Kleiter and his rink of third Joshua Mattern, second Trevor Johnson and lead Matthieu Taillon after they rolled to a 7-2 win over Highland’s Kelly Knapp. Knapp includes Moose Jaw’s Brock Montgomery at third.
Game time for the final is 4:30 p.m., with limited seating in the upstairs lounge.
Earlier Saturday, Kleiter advanced to the final with a win over Highland’s Ben Gamble, third Braydan Mohns, second Tyler Krupski and lead Rory McCusker. Gamble curls in the Original 16 Cash League in Moose Jaw, and their team is coached by another Canadian curling legend in Joan McCusker of Sandra Schmirler-rink fame.
The other semifinal saw Wills, third Grady Lamontange, second Blake Hoffman and lead Brody Blackwell steal one in an extra end for a 6-5 victory over Estevan’s Brent Gedak and his crew of former Moose Jaw junior provincial champions in third Jason Ackerman, second Derek Owens and lead Curtis Horwath.
Moose Jaw’s Brett Behm, third Brendan Ross, second Daniel Mutlow and lead Ian Howell posted a 1-4 record in round robin play and missed the playoffs -- but had one of their best games of the tournament against none other than Howard, falling 4-3 after giving up a steal in the final end.
