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Team Epping celebrates with the Meridian Canadian Open men's trophy. (Anil Mungal)

Eight Ends: Meridian Canadian Open takeaways

It was an epic ending to the 2015 portion of the Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling season.

Toronto’s John Epping cruised to the men’s championship of the Meridian Canadian Open while Ottawa’s Rachel Homan set a record by capturing her third consecutive Pinty’s GSOC women’s title Sunday.

There are plenty of moments to reflect upon from the Meridian Canadian Open and our Eight Ends blog runs down the takeaways from the fourth event — and third major — of the Pinty’s GSOC season:

1st End: Epping throws perfect game to win men’s title

There’s no denying Epping was hitting everything with ease in the Meridian Canadian Open men’s final and the stats agree as he was awarded a 100 shooting percentage (can you say clutch?)

Overall Epping was on a roll finishing with an undefeated 6-0 record including wins over the likes of Mike McEwen, Kevin Koe (twice, once in the A-qualifier and again in the playoffs), and Brad Gushue in the final. All three of those teams also won Pinty’s GSOC titles this season and it’s fitting Epping’s road to the Canadian Open championship ran through them for him to earn it.

Team Epping was strong from beginning to end and didn’t give up a single steal throughout the tournament.

It’s been four seasons since Epping’s last Grand Slam victory and a lot has changed on his Toronto club with lineup tweaks here and there and even cleaning house at one point. Epping appears to have found the right combination now with third Mat Camm, second Patrick Janssen, and lead Tim March and this bodes well for him entering provincial playdowns as he looks to represent Ontario for the first time in his career at the Brier.

Fun Fact: Epping is now just a Masters title away from completing a career Grand Slam (win all four majors) as he has also won the National (2008) and Players’ Championship (2012).

2nd End: Epping is the human highlight reel

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then the following videos will free up a lot of space in this blog describing Epping’s sizzling shots in the playoffs.

Let’s start with the two angle raises in the final to score deuces.

Oh yeah, let’s not forget the shot to win in the semifinals against Team Koe (can you say “shot of the year?”)

3rd End: Twitter reaction to Epping’s win

Epping’s shots in the men’s final were the toast of Twitter receiving instant reaction from his curling colleagues:

4th End: Credit to Gushue

While Gushue fell just short of defending his Canadian Open crown, it wasn’t the four-time Grand Slam champion’s fault. Gushue had a 90 shooting percentage in the final, which was best among all players in the game … not named Epping of course. There’s little room for error when your competitor is shooting lights-out and is forcing you to draws for single points.

Team Gushue’s impressive run on the season continued as they were playing in their third Pinty’s GSOC final through four events, including a win last month at the National.

5th End: Homan wins third consecutive Slam

Team Homan continue to make their mark on the record books by capturing the Meridian Canadian Open and becoming the first women’s rink to win three consecutive Pinty’s GSOC titles.

Homan completed the feat defeating Winnipeg’s Jennifer Jones 8-7 in the final.

It’s quite the accomplishment regardless of gender as on the men’s side only legendary curler turned Sportsnet commentator Kevin Martin has won three in a row during a single season (2006-07). It’s worth noting Glenn Howard did it “Tiger style” winning the final two events of the 2007-08 season and the first in 2008-09.

Homan, third Emma Miskew, second Joanne Courtney, and lead Lisa Weagle have a very good chance of doing what nobody has done before — men or women — and win all four majors in a single season at the Players’ Championship.

They also pretty much have the Rogers Grand Slam Cup locked up with a grand 23-point lead over Team Tracy Fleury and Team Val Sweeting. Homan just has to win two round-robin games at the Players’ to guarantee her team will have four points to lock that up and cash in a cool $75,000 bonus.

6th End: Watch the Stone

Alina Paetz missed the playoffs at the past two GSOC events she competed in but it was lift off for her Swiss rink at the Meridian Canadian Open as they rolled through the A-side.

Team Paetz defeated Team Homan, something only compatriots Team Silvana Tirinzoni have done this year on the Slam circuit, with a 7-5 victory in the A-final to qualify for the playoffs. Paetz played like Michael (take your pick: Jackson, Tyson, Jordan, Game 6) with a 94 percent shooting percentage in the game.

At one point you had to figure “who gon stop Team Paetz, huh?” as they were definitely in their zone until they fell to Team Chelsea Carey in the quarterfinals, denying a rematch in the semis against eventual champion Homan.

Still, I guess Team Paetz have got their swagger back. What more can I say?

(In case you’re wondering what’s up with all of the Kanye West/Jay Z references, Team Paetz’s walkout song during the opening ceremonies was track three from the classic album Watch the Throne).

7th End: Murdoch makes the playoffs

It was great to see Scotland’s David Murdoch qualify through the B-side as the Sochi Olympic silver medallist reached the playoffs at a Pinty’s GSOC event for the first time since the 2013 Masters.

Murdoch missed the last event at the National, but he had a pretty good excuse as his wife gave birth a baby girl, who will no doubt be a curling fan soon if not already.

8th End: Dunstone makes GSOC debut

Get used to seeing the name Matt Dunstone in these parts. The 2013 Canadian junior champion made his Pinty’s GSOC debut at the Meridian Canadian Open filling in for second Carter Rycroft on Team Pat Simmons.

While it might be intimidating playing with the reigning Brier champs, Dunstone was ecstatic for the opportunity. Dunstone is till eligible for juniors and it’s only a matter of time until he’s back in the Pinty’s GSOC series.

Extra End: Break time / Provincial playdowns on Sportsnet

We’re on a hiatus for now with the fifth Pinty’s GSOC event of the season not until March 17-20, 2016, for the Elite 10 in Victoria, B.C.

In the meantime, keep tuning in to Sportsnet for more curling coverage starting with the B.C. junior provincial championships (Jan. 3) followed by provincial playdowns for Ontario, Manitoba, Alberta and B.C. leading up to the Scotties Tournament of Hearts and the Brier.

Nov. 5-10, 2024 Silent Ice Center Nisku, AB