Brier Final, Early Ends

Just settling in here in the JLC. My plan had been to watch from the comfort of home but the atmosphere yesterday was too much fun, so here I am again. I can catch up on sleep and rest tomorrow, waiting for the body shop to finish work on my car.

Manitoba have the initial hammer, coming from the 1-2 game.

END #1: After a few rocks, an exchange of hit and rolls, there is an MB corner guard, an ON possible biter behind it, and a MN rock partly covered. Howard raises the biter onto the MB rock, removing it and sitting. Stoughton hits and stays, feathering the ON rock outside the rings. Howard hits and leaves a biter. Stoughton gets the blank.
0-0

END #2: A series of mutual freezes on the center line help create a bit of a mess; Howard on his first rock sets up three ON rocks in front of a MB shot in the house. A Stoughton draw does not sufficiently bury. Howard hits and rolls into cover as shot. Stoughton makes a perfect tap for two.
MB 2 - ON 0

END #3: Mead cleans up the house but there is a bevy of guards. ON comes to the front four-foot behind center guards. Mead runs a guard back and removes the ON rock, leaving a MB rock behind cover. Hart hits and rolls but is still open. Stoughton hits and stays. Howard hits but rolls out. Stoughton draws to the four-foot; he also has a biter at the back. Howard drawing to four-foot against two for his one. He gets it.
MB 2 - ON 1

END #4: Rocks, mostly MB, line up in the four-foot. Hart opens things up a bit. Mead responds and MB lie three. Howard pops one MB rock and sits on another one, in the four-foot. Stoughton's draw comes up a bit short. Howard taps his own and rolls a tad to sit two. Stoughton picks one to keep Ontario to steal of one.
MB 2 - ON 2

END #5: MB have two counting rocks in the rings behind three ON rocks. MB poke one of those out. ON tap-back causes the tappee to roll out. MB tap it out and sit three. ON double out the front MB rocks. Stoughton has a draw for two.
MB 4 - ON 2

Both teams were lucky in that end.