SELKIRK, Man. — Calgary’s John Morris edged Switzerland’s Peter de Cruz 6-5 to win in his season debut during Draw 5 Wednesday night at the Masters Grand Slam of Curling.
Morris got out to a hot start leading 5-1 after scoring a triple in the first and a deuce in the third. The two rinks traded singles through the fourth and fifth ends and de Cruz added a double in the seventh to close the gap 6-4. De Cruz had two rocks sitting in the house in the eighth but Morris held the hammer and hit and stuck with his final shot to give up only one.
Team Morris lead Nolan Thiessen said they had a really good week training prior to the Masters in anticipation of their first game of the year.
“I know we thought we might be a little behind some of the other teams but we still know how to curl,” Thiessen said. “It doesn’t mean we’re just going to be out here getting spanked so we were prepared and we just had a plan and hopefully we play pretty well. There were a few things that we need to tighten up but it was a good start.”
Thiessen is originally from Manitoba and said it’s fun to be back playing in his home province.
“I have family in the stands and it’s more than just my family at home sitting there watching on the internet,” Thiessen said. “It’s exciting to be back in Manitoba, it’s my home so I like it.”
De Cruz’s rink fell to compatriot Sven Michel in the morning draw and dropped to 0-2 at the tournament.
Elsewhere, Toronto’s John Epping also held on late to defeat Winnipeg’s Jeff Stoughton 5-4.
Epping (1-0) stole singles in the first and second ends to open the scoring 2-0. After Stoughton (1-1) got on board with one in the fourth, Epping earned a deuce in the fifth and stole yet another point to lead 5-1. Stoughton bounced back with a double in the seventh but could only get a steal of one in the final end.
Elsewhere, Brad Gushue from St. John’s scored the deciding double in the seventh and defeated Thomas Ulsrud from Norway 6-4.
Gushue improved to a 1-1 record while Ulsrud, the reigning world champion, is now 0-2.
Olympic champion Brad Jacobs, of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., fell 8-1 in four ends during his first game of the tournament to Saskatoon’s Steve Laycock. Laycock (2-0) scored a deuce in the first and stole a triple in the second. Jacobs (0-1) settled for one in the third but Laycock added three more in the fourth and the two rinks shook hands early.
In the women’s division, Winnipeg’s Jennifer Jones scored four in the seventh end to close out an 11-3 victory over Edmonton’s Heather Nedohin. Jones jumped out with a triple in the first and a steal of two in the second to lead 5-0. Nedohin scored two in the third and Jones replied with a double of her own in the fifth.
Jones (1-1) bounced back from a 6-1 loss to Allison Flaxey in Tuesday’s opening draw. Nedohin fell to Val Sweeting 7-4 in the morning draw and now holds an 0-2 record.
Notes: Scott Bailey is filling in for Carter Rycroft at second on Team Morris during Grand Slam of Curling events this season. … Earlier Wednesday, the Grand Slam of Curling and Sportsnet announced an agreement has been reached with Pinty’s coming on board as the title sponsor for the entire series starting Jan. 1, 2015 and running through 2018.