Eric Welsh
Black Press
Thomas Love needed a bounce-back outing Friday afternoon, and got it in a big way, thumping Dustin Withey's Cariboo-North East rink in the second draw of the juvenile men's curling event.
Love's crew scored once in the first end, then stole five in the second, never looking back on the way to an easy win.
The match ended after just four ends.
“It went really well, putting rocks in good spots and making good shots,” he said with a grin. “I felt we were more cohesive as a unit than we were in the opener.”
The Vernon native's Thompson-Okanagan rink lost 9-3 to Tyler Tardi's Fraser Valley rink in draw one, and badly needed a confidence builder.
“For sure, but we've got to win our next one tomorrow to stay in tough for the playoffs,” he cautioned. “We are feeling better than we were this morning.”
It'll be Ryan Cassidy's Vancouver Island-Central Coast foursome waiting in draw three, and Love expects a far more difficult match.
“A couple of them went to nationals, so we know we'll have to stay tough for them,” he said.
The next draw is bright and early, 8 a.m. Saturday morning.