The 2009 Scott: Draw #4

Alan says he was worn out from the excitement of the close matches in draw three, and so I guess that leaves it to me to do some updates on the fourth draw. The TSN featured game is between Quebec and PEI. Some opening observations:

1. Is it just me and the way I see things, or are the curlers wearing less makeup today than they were last night?
2. It looks to me as if several of the curlers are putting more handle (spin) on their rocks than I am used to seeing. Is there a reason for this?
3. At our club, the ice seems to slope downward toward the outside walls on the outer sheets. I wonder if that happened there yesterday.

End#1:
A nice come-around by Belanger set the end up for Quebec to force PEI to take one.

End #2:
Nice hit-and-roll by PEI set up the end early, and the Quebec second couldn't really get the long-guard run-backs. But the vice made a good double peel of the guards, followed by a good run-back tap-and-peel. MacPhee (PEI skip) really muffed her first shot this end, taking out HER shot rock. She tried to redeem herself, going for a double, but took out only one Quebec rock, leaving Quebec with an easy draw for two.

Quebec 2, PEI 1

End #3:
The end started as a mess with a bunch of center line stone for both teams. Quebec was definitely in control this end, until MacPhee (vice) made two doubles, peeling the guards and then driving two Quebec rocks from the house. Larouche nose hits a PEI rock on purpose, MacPhee-skip comes up short, and LaRouche taps up her own center guard but leaves a hole for R.MacPhee to draw through for one.

Quebec 2, PEI 2

End #4:
Lemay (Quebec 2nd) made a great tap up to put Quebec in a dominant position, and MacPhee (vice) came up short with her first shot. But then Belanger (vice - Que) essentially whiffed on a take-out attempt. PEI set up more guards, leaving a narrow port for Quebec, but Quebec instead opted for a double peel of two PEI guards. Nice guard by PEI skip, leaving Que skip a double bump attempt which she barely missed (over curled due to too little weight). PEI goes with an aggressive attempt to steal, but touches the guard. Larouche finds a small port, and drives a double tap back to bump out the PEI stone to score three. Exciting shot. Ray sounds as if he might be having a heart attack!

Quebec 5, PEI 2

End #5:
Lots of guards and run-back opportunities with Quebec sitting 1-2. And Quebec just keeps putting up guards. Looks almost like club-level curling at this point. With all the guards, PEI is left a difficult double-raise double-take-out. Hit perfectly but a tad light. Steal of one for Quebec.

Quebec 6, PEI 2

End #6:
As the end opens, Quebec gets lots of rocks in play, and PEI struggles to do much of anything. In fact Quebec even removed one of its own guards, to keep things cleaner.

Meanwhile, Team Canada smokes NS 9-1.

Quebec seemed to dominate the entire 6th end, but Larouche was three inches heavy, leaving a tap for two for PEI, but it was a bit wide. Another steal of one for Quebec.

Quebec 7, PEI 2

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Oops. A break for dinner and to wring our hands about CUPE's latest, and when we come back to the curling, we see that TSN has given up on the Quebec-PEI game even though PEI stole one in the 7th and now trails 7-4. TSN is focusing on Alberta-Manitoba, where Alberta leads 5-4 in the 9th without the hammer.