Dunstone looking to leave it all on the line at KIOTI Tractor Champions Cup
REGINA — It’s a fitting end to the Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling season this week for Matt Dunstone in the KIOTI Tractor Champions Cup.
Dunstone and his Winnipeg-based club also happen to be sponsored by KIOTI Tractor. That’s not their only motivation to do well this week though as they’re also aiming to finish their first year together on a high note.
“We want to go out and leave it all on the table,” Dunstone said following practice Tuesday morning. “We’ve got two, three months off after this, so (we’ll) leave it all out there.
“We’ve come close a couple of times in the Slams this year, so I’m definitely motivated to come out, try and capitalize and win one of these.”
This season marked the start of a new Olympic cycle and amid the flurry of roster changes, Dunstone reunited with former junior teammate Colton Lott, who throws second stones, and added veteran third B.J. Neufeld and lead Ryan Harnden.
They found their rhythm quite early reaching the final of the HearingLife Tour Challenge in late October then captured back-to-back tour titles in Red Deer, Alta., in November and Morris, Man., in December.
Team Dunstone were also victorious in provincial playdowns and claimed silver medals for Manitoba in the Tim Hortons Brier.
“It’s been very consistent,” said Dunstone, who won his first Grand Slam men’s title at the 2019 Masters. “We’ve been able to put ourselves in a lot of finals and that’s kind of expedited the growth of this team. We’ve got lots to build off of, it’s an exciting group, we all get along really well and we’re all very motivated.
“It’s a little bit bittersweet that this is the end just because we had such a good time this year. Hopefully, we’ll close this out on a high note and look forward to the next one.”
Quick Links: Tickets | Scores/Standings | Draw Schedule | Broadcast Schedule
DRAW 2 ROUNDUP
Dunstone kicked off his run in the KIOTI Tractor Champions Cup bouncing back to beat fellow Winnipeg skip Reid Carruthers 6-3 Tuesday afternoon.
Carruthers led 3-0 after pulling off a tight double takeout to score two points in the second end and stealing one point in the third. Dunstone regrouped and matched drawing for a deuce in the fourth and swiping a point in the fifth to tie it up 3-all.
Another steal in the seventh gave Dunstone a one-point lead, and he held on for the win as Carruthers attempted a desperation angle raise with the final rock of the game in the eighth that missed the mark.
Meanwhile, Sweden’s Niklas Edin doubled up on Korey Dropkin’s American team 10-5.
In women’s play, Vancouver’s Clancy Grandy took two points in the seventh and stole two in the eighth to beat Winnipeg’s Kaitlyn Lawes 8-4 while a five-count in the fifth end helped Ottawa’s Rachel Homan defeat Tabitha Peterson of the United States 7-4.
UP NEXT
Round-robin action continues at the Co-operators Centre with Draw 3 at 6:30 p.m. local time (8:30 p.m. ET).
Broadcast coverage begins Thursday at 2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT on Sportsnet, Sportsnet NOW (Canada) and Yare (international).
NOTES
The KIOTI Tractor Champions Cup is the sixth and final Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling event of the season featuring 12 men’s teams and 12 women’s teams who have won a tour title to qualify. … Both divisions are split into two pools of six teams for round-robin play. The best six teams overall qualify for Saturday’s quarterfinals with the top two receiving byes to the semifinals. … The finals are scheduled for Sunday.
