Wily experience superseded youthful enthusiasm at the Okotoks Men’s Bonspiel last weekend.
Okotokian David Limpert outlasted the Juvenile rink headed by Jeremy Harty 7-3 to win the B-final of the Okotoks spiel on March 24.
“We had lots of rocks in play and made those guys have more than a couple of decisions and to see what their experience tells them so far,” Limpert said of the game plan in the B-final. “I love curling with the up-and-coming juniors because our sport relies on that.”
Following a blank first end, Limpert picked up a double in the second, answered immediately by a two-ender from Harty in the third. Limpert then took control with three in the fourth and a steal of one in the fifth. After Harty picked up a single in the sixth, Limpert’s single in the seventh sealed the 7-3 victory.
“It was the stealing in the fifth end that put us in control of the game,” Limpert said. “That puts you back in control and it will allow you to have one or take one.”
Limpert, along with skip Rob Sand, second Darren Trennery and lead Cal Drouin, advanced to the final on the strength of victories over Jim Goller, Team Boleziuk and Team Lang.
They saved their best for last.
“The whole team’s draw weight was better than it has been all spiel,” Limpert said after the final. “We just played those kids around the button the whole time, had more rocks on the button the whole time and they couldn’t get to the button.”
The 17-year-old Harty, whose team featured Okotokians Kyler Kleibrink, Colin Peterson and Christian Sprinkhuysen, lamented missed opportunities in the fourth end, including a near miss on a triple takeout by the skip.
“We had some little misses in the fourth that ended up costing us three,” said Harty, a student at J.T. Foster High School in Nanton. “Other than that it was just little things we could have improved on that continued to hurt us.”
The Juvenile foursome is off to the Optimist International U18 World Championships this week in British Columbia.
“It was good to get on the ice before we leave to get the extra practice,” Harty said of making a final. “It’s really helpful just to boost the confidence.”
The 28-team recreational Okotoks bonspiel boasted considerable star power on the ice.
Four-time world and six-time Canadian men’s champion Randy Ferbey skipped a team for the first time in Okotoks. Ferbey’s squad, headed by Real Michaud, featured a range of experience and found it tough sledding in the foothills. Ferbey posted a 1-2 record and was ousted in the C-event on March 23.
Okotoks reigned supreme in the C-event as well in a thrilling tilt that came down to the final shot in the eighth end. Okotoks skip Jim Goller took advantage of the hammer and executed a takeout of Adam Saunders’ Calgary red rock in the button to clinch the 4-3 nail biting victory.
It was a similar reprieve one sheet over in the A-final.
Calgary’s Lloyd Hill took home the A-event with a 4-3 win over Steve Tersmette, after the Kimberley curler forced an extra end with a raised takeout with the hammer in the eighth.
