CHARLOTTETOWN — After one winning streak ended for Team Mike McEwen, a new one has begun at the HearingLife Tour Challenge.
McEwen entered the first Grand Slam of Curling event this season having won 13 straight games but that came to a halt with a 6-5 loss to Team Matt Dunstone during the opening night Tuesday.
The Saskatoon-based squad bounced back with an 8-3 victory Wednesday over Team Korey Dropkin of the U.S. and made it two in a row with a 7-2 win Thursday morning over Scotland’s Team James Craik.
“It’s good,” McEwen said. “That first game was tough, it was actually tough on both teams. We were over in Calgary and playing on some different ice conditions. You come to a new building, a new set of rocks and all of that and sometimes the adjustment takes a little bit. We sat down, we talked about it and I’m pretty happy that we adapted well. We just had to change some things, how we’re throwing it and managing the stones. You have to be able to do that at this level and I’m pretty happy with how we bounced back.
“The first game was like watching two 50 per cent teams go at each other,” he added with a laugh. “I’m sure Dunstone would be honest and say pretty much the same. Obviously, they looked the same too after both our teams got through that first game, playing some better curling, so I’m very happy.”
A buildup of condensation on the ceiling of the Bell Aliant Centre led to drips onto Sheet A on Wednesday, however, things held up just fine for McEwen’s match and he said he didn’t have any issues.
“My only complaint is it’s a little cold but morning draws tend to be a little colder in the building,” he said with a smile. “But the ice, it’s interesting how it changes throughout the day. I think the conditions probably the first couple of draws — from what I just experienced and what I have been hearing — are probably the best, and then it just takes a lot of wisdom and craftiness to manage the ice later in the day. The building fills up with people and gets spicy out there. It’s fun getting a morning draw where it starts off pristine and it’s been good to see the other draws when you have to be really tuned in to how to manage it.”
McEwen rolled through September winning the Saville Shootout, ATB Okotoks Classic and PointsBet Invitational titles. It was the team’s first event in August at the Euro Super Series over in Scotland though where they missed the playoffs that kickstarted the run by giving them a wake-up call.
“We went over to Europe and all I can say is we played more golf games than we did curling, so that kind of tells you how the curling went,” McEwen said. “We ran into some Euro teams that thumped us. We kind of got our legs late in the event but it was too late. It just goes to show you how early some countries are starting and we were kind of behind the eight-ball. We knew that going in that it would be tough.
“It was a good trip, but to take something away from it, it sure lit a fire under us. In early September, we went and trained for three or four straight days in Edmonton before we played our second event. Obviously, didn’t look back in September. Now that training doesn’t stop, by any means. We still have to keep on it. We tried to make some improvements. Those changes take time to stick and when you’re competing a lot, it can break down. So, we’re very aware we keep our eye on it, keep training and I think that experience in Europe actually led to us having a really great September even though we stumbled and fell on our face. I think that was definitely a factor in us having a breakout September.”
The HearingLife Tour Challenge features triple knockout — with A, B and C Event brackets — where teams must win three games before they lose three to advance to the playoffs.
McEwen (2-1) is into the B-qualifiers and has two chances to reach the quarterfinals along with Calgary’s Team Kevin Koe, Team Ross Whyte of Scotland and Team Yannick Schwaller of Switzerland, who were also victorious Thursday morning.
Koe earned a 7-4 win over Team Brad Gushue of St. John’s, N.L., Whyte beat Italy’s Team Joël Retornaz 6-4 and Schwaller defeated Team Michael Brunner 5-2 in an all-Swiss showdown.
Gushue, Retornaz and Brunner all dropped to 1-2 records and are now on the brink of elimination in the C Event.
Team Koe is playing short-handed after parting ways with second Jacques Gauthier last week.
UP NEXT
Triple-knockout play continues with Draw 10 at noon AT / 11 a.m. ET at the Bell Aliant Centre. Watch live on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+.
NOTES
The HearingLife Tour Challenge features 64 of the best men’s and women’s teams from around the world split into two tiers. … Tier 2 winners receive invitations to the WFG Masters in January. … Eight teams in each division qualify for Saturday’s quarterfinals … The semifinals are also scheduled for Saturday with the finals set for Sunday.
