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Armitage nabs berth in finals

Rob Armitage and his supporting cast wasted little time in securing a berth in the provincial men’s curling championship Feb. 3-7 at Olds.

Rob Armitage and his supporting cast wasted little time in securing a berth in the provincial men’s curling championship Feb. 3-7 at Olds.

The Red Deer foursome qualified for the provincials by rattling off four consecutive victories in the Southern Alberta Curling Association playdowns which concluded Monday at the Calgary North Hill Club.

The Armitage crew, also consisting of third Shaun Meachem and front-enders Trevor Sparks and Doug Stambaugh, opened with an 8-7 win over Don DeLair of Airdrie, then posted respective 9-6 and 9-8 triumphs over Terry Meek of Calgary and Scott Egger of Brooks.

From there, it was on to the A-event final Saturday afternoon versus Calgary’s Adrian Bakker and an eventual 7-6 victory. “We played just well enough to beat our first few opponents and then we played really well in the last game,” Armitage said Tuesday.

“That was definitely the best game we played. We really dominated the first half of the game.”

Armitage led 3-0 after three ends before giving up single points in each of the fourth and fifth frames.

The Red Deer rink added another point in the sixth, then surrendered the lead when Bakker struck for three in the seventh end. “He made a fluke shot and then a really good one to get his three,” said Armitage, who rebounded with a pair of points in the eighth end for a 6-5 lead.

Bakker was set up to score two points in the ninth but had to settle for one, and Armitage used last-rock advantage to nail down the winning point in the final end.

“He (Bakker) rolled out with his last rock in the ninth when it looked like he was going to deuce us,” said Armitage, stressing the importance of the miss.

This year’s 12-team provincial field will be minus Kevin Martin of Edmonton, who will chase a gold medal while representing Canada in the Vancouver Olympics.

That leaves Edmonton powerhouses skipped by Kevin Koe (NACA qualifier) and Randy Ferbey (CRTS berth) as the co-favourites.

“Barring a major upset, it’s going to come down to who’s going to play Koe or Ferbey in the semifinal,” said Armitage. “And if you can win that game then maybe you can win one more.”

The remainder of the field will consist of Bakker and Calgary’s Brent Bawel, who won the B- and C-event finals at the SACA playdowns; Peace River Association qualifiers Kurt Balderston and Kelsey Dusseault of Sexsmith; Ben Wilkinson of Whitecourt and James Pahl of Sherwood Park out of NACA; and ACF bonspiel points qualifiers Warren Hassall of Lloydminster and Wade White and Ted Appelman of Edmonton.

Clearly, the Armitage foursome will take momentum into the provincials. The team has been relatively inactive this season, although a 7-0 record through the District B and SACA playdowns would suggest otherwise.

“The guys have played really well,” said Armitage. “I mean, that’s one thing I’ve always had — a good pick of players. If I change the team, it seems like I’m reloading more than rebuilding.”

l Lowell Peterman’s Red Deer rink fell in the C semifinals of the SACA playdowns.

It was a long and grueling road for Peterman, who had Fred Armstrong at third and Bryce Schille and Steve Matejka manning the front end. The foursome lost 7-4 to Leon Moch of Medicine Hat, then rebounded to thump Cameron Culp of Airdrie 9-1 and edge Lloyd Heller of Medicine Hat 8-6 in the B event.

However, a 10-4 loss to Egger dropped Peterman and his mates into the C event, where they posted consecutive 9-3 wins over Mike Jantzen and Dean Ross, both of Calgary, before being eliminated with a 10-2 loss to Egger.

gmeachem@www.reddeeradvocate.com