Game 13 and 14 Recaps

Last week was another D level team and just like in weeks past, we (I) started out slow and they stole 3 in the first end.  (How do we keep letting this happen?)  But we chipped and didn't panic and when scored 4 a few ends later, we were feeling good.  And then we eventually won the game.

But this last game was our first game against an A level team since early December.  And then I learned that they only have one loss for the season so far.  (Wow).  After the game, I would learn that the opposing skip remembers what happened last season.  (My team beat theirs on the last shot of the game, as recapped here.) 

Kind of an auspicious start before the game.  I had lined up a sub, but then an hour before the game, he cancelled as he had basically been curling nonstop that Sunday (congrats on almost winning the Winter Carnival Bonspiel).  Right before our game, I spotted someone else we knew and convinced him to stay for one more game.

Ee pretty much kept the game close.  (If I had made a couple freezes, we might have scored more.)  By the seventh end, the opposing team (with hammer) was looking at something like this.  (There might have even been more guards up front.)  They have hammer and they're yellow.

If it was me (and the other skip incidentally), I would go for the point and do the raise.  Blanking the end hadn't even popped into my head as an option until I saw them throw the rock.  It was a choice of being up two without hammer vs being up one with hammer coming home (or being tied with hammer if you miss).  So in terms of risk, blanking the end was a good choice as the takeout was the easier shot.

So now we're in the eighth end.  With his first shot, the opposing skip made a great double takeout.  There goes my shot at stealing two.

And then I threw garbage for my last rock.  The raise might have given us a shot at going to an extra end, but oh well.

These two games brings the record to 8-5 and the competitive record to 2-3. 

Game 18 Recap

Last game of the season.  (We missed our playdown game, which was on St. Patrick's Day.)  I guess this time I'll hold off on telling you the results of the game until the end of the post.  This game is a rematch from Game 3, yet another close game that my team lost on the last shot.  Like the last game, this is an A level team so we got a one point handicap, but they were playing with a somewhat inexperienced sub.  I was happy to have everyone together on the team, which I realize now might have only happened half the time this past season.

I didn't really play particularly well and I think basically everyone, maybe more so on my team, had trouble with draw weight.  I had two opportunities early in the game to draw basically anywhere in the house to score and the first time, it went long and the second time it was short.  Geez.

This game also featured a blank end.  This has only happened one other time for me and Vice and this has never happened for Lead and Second.  That was kind of interesting.  My team didn't have hammer and we basically just played the takeout game and we made them all.  So it's my last shot of this end and I don't have hammer and I'm looking at this. 

I think you definitely want to have something in the house to force the opposing team to do something.  I was thinking that ideally, you have a rock that's biting.  This way, a takeout wouldn't be in the house.  Of course, I couldn't throw that weight and I was light.  I would've preferred to just have something in the house (maybe behind a guard), but oh well.  Faced with the decision of going for one or the blank, the opposing skip chose the blank.  However, they only scored one on the next end, so maybe Coach Bill is right about blanking ends. 

Anyway, in the situation below, we're now in the seventh end and we're down two.  We've already been buzzed so I know that this is my last shot.  My team is red and with his last shot, the opposing skip drew to the four foot.  He had wanted a guard or maybe a biter, but in the house isn't really a terrible result either.

So of course, I need a double takeout with this shot and my team would end up scoring at least two.  My wish was for the green arrow.  Unfortunately, the second yellow rock jammed on our own rock.  They scored one and that was the game (final score 9-6).  It was so close though and there was a lot of weight on my rock so if the second rock hadn't jammed squarely, it might've barely moved out of the house.

Oh well.  That brings our final season record to 10-7 (we never did a makeup game for game 9).  Not a bad season.