KINDERSLEY -- As the SaskTel Tankard provincial men’s curling championship moves into weekend action, the playoff picture and potential championship contenders are becoming more and more clear.
The ranks of teams sitting at a single loss dropped to two after round robin action Thursday in Kindersley, with Swift Current’s Steve Laycock holding the overall lead at 5-1 while Regina’s Kelly Knapp is right on his heels at 4-1 and Saskatoon’s Rylan Kleiter is at 4-2.
Laycock and his rink of third Shaun Meachem, second Chris Haichert and lead Brayden Grindheim came into the day with an unbeaten record and ended up in a marquee showdown with Kleiter to start the day.
That game ended up as an absolute barnburner, with the teams exchanging single points over the final three ends, culminating with Kleiter sending things to extras with a one in the 10th. Laycock would set himself up with a shot for the win in the 11th and would get the job done for a 7-6 win.
Things didn’t go as well for the seven-time former Tankard champ in the afternoon draw, though, as Martensville’s Dylan Derksen scored three in the ninth to take a 9-7 lead and would hold Laycock to a single point in the final end to secure the victory.
Knapp and his rink of third Brennan Jones, second Mike Armstrong and lead Trent Knapp kept pace with Laycock with two wins of his own on Thursday, as the 2023 provincial champion downed Saskatoon’s Bradley Moser 10-2 in seven ends before battling to a 7-5 win over Langenberg’s Charlie Thomas.
Other action from the morning draw saw Saskatoon’s Jason Jacobson defeat Derksen 9-5 and Saskatoon’s Dustin Kalthoff down Martensville’s Logan Ede 5-3.
The afternoon games included Kleiter defeating Ede 8-4 and Kalthoff downing Moser 7-6.
Standings through six draws at the Sasktel Tankard are as follows:
Steve Laycock 5-1
Kelly Knapp 4-1
Rylan Kleiter 4-2
Dustin Kalthoff 3-2
Dylan Derksen 3-2
Jason Jacobson 2-3
Logan Ede 1-5
Bradley Moser 1-4
Charley Thomas 1-4
Round robin action resumes at 8 a.m. Friday with Moser vs. Thomas, Knapp vs. Laycock, Ede vs. Derksen and Kalthoff vs. Jacobson.
The 4 p.m. draw will see Kalthoff vs. Derksen, Thomas vs. Ede, Moser vs. Jacobson and Kleiter vs. Knapp.
Be sure to keep an eye on curlsask.ca for regular updates throughout the tournament.
