By Martin Martinson

Storylines abound in Thursday nightcap of Meridian Canadian Open

Jan 9, 2019 | 9:04 PM

It was a disappointing night for both Saskatchewan rinks in action Wednesday during the final draw on day two of the Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling: Meridian Canadian Open.

Following a disappointing 10-1 opening loss in five ends Tuesday night to Calgary’s Kevin Koe, Saskatoon’s Rylan Kleiter again found themselves on the short end of the stick, taking a 7-3 defeat at the hands of Northern Ontario’s Brad Jacobs’ rink in seven ends.

Despite the loss and 0-2 start to the tournament, Kleiter said there was certainly some marked improvement by his rink over their first game Wednesday.

“We have definitely improved and that’s going to be the mentality moving forward as well,” he said.

When asked about the prospect of sitting just one loss from elimination, Kleiter said while the team’s back may be up against a wall, that notion does not have to be a bad thing, if used properly as a motivator.

Meadow Lake arena and recreation facility

Innovation Federal Credit Union donates up to $1-million in community match

4h ago

Weekend hockey

PAGC set to host largest Senator's Cup tournament to date

6h ago

Riderville

Riders Have Options Heading into Tuesday CFL Draft

8h ago

“Definitely there’s pressure, but we like to have the pressure, it might put a little bit of a fire under us,” he said.

In other Saskatchewan action, Regina’s Matt Dunstone, fell 5-3 to Brendan Bottcher’s Edmonton rink with the defeat coming in seven ends. The loss comes after Dunstone’s rink snuck a 5-4 victory over Braden Calvert earlier in the day.

“[After] having three weeks off for Christmas, I thought today was a pretty good day,” Dunstone said of the mixed results for his team Wednesday.

“I think we played pretty well,” he continued. “We were pretty precise out there and in this last [game], had nothing but opportunities but couldn’t capitalize on them.”

As far as what Dunstone’s rink needs to do to see improvements as far as their record, he said it’s about sticking with the program and capitalizing on the team’s opportunities when they are presented.

“We gave ourselves nothing but chances tonight to win the game and eventually I’m going to make that big one to put it away,” he said.

In woman’s action, Scotland’s Muirhead rink triumphed 6-2 over Lethbridge’s Scheidegger in seven ends, while the biggest surprise on the night may have come courtesy of Japan’s team Fujisawa who after five ends took a commanding 8-1 lead over Winnipeg’s Jones’ rink, en route to eventually taking home a 9-3 final over the reigning Canadian and World champions in seven ends.

Elsewhere, Peter De Cruz took a 6-4 win over Calgary’s Kevin Koe.

Martin.Martinson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: MartyMartyPxP1