Jim Cotter settled in the hack at the Vernon Curling Club Sunday afternoon and took a little extra time to deliver his final rock.
Cotter’s weight, the brushing of front end Rick Sawatsky and Tyrel Griffith and the call by third Ryan Kuhn was bang-on as the rock settled right on the middle of the button to give the Vernon foursome a thrilling 7-6, extra end victory over New Westminter’s Dean Joanisse and a second straight Canadian Direct Insurance B.C. Men’s Curling Championship.
The win avenged an 8-5 loss Saturday morning in the one versus two Page playoff format to Joanisse, and sends the Vernon quartet on to the Brier in Calgary starting Feb. 28.
“Joanisse and his team just played awesome all week and we knew we’d have our hands full and would have to get a couple of breaks along the way and be at the top of our game,” said Cotter, who captured his fifth purple heart as provincial champ, and who lost only one game at his home club during the bonspiel.
“It just feels fabulous. I’m so proud of my guys. We went through a lot of adversity. We had so many one-point games this week and we knew we had a target on our backs. We seem to like those close games and relish in that moment.”
Cotter needed a near carbon-copy win Saturday, 7-6 in an extra end of New Westminster’s Brent Pierce, to reach Sunday’s final.
See Wednesday’s Morning Star for complete coverage of Sunday’s championship.
