We talked earlier this week about the games ahead for the Owen Sound Attack of the Ontario Hockey league; tonight’s cross over match at home against Barrie plus the pending home and home with the Guelph Storm this weekend- did I mention Guelph has won 5 in a row ?
In a different sport, tonight is an equally significant night as it pertains to playoff positioning in the Chesley-Tara Mutual Insurance Major Curling League.
There are 4 games tonight at the Port Elgin Curling Club and 3 more in Kincardine, and by my count, it’s do or die for 4 rinks, plus a major opportunity to find the playoff promised land for 4 others.
Jeff Thomson, Les Shane, Brent Keeling & Al Hutchinson have all garnered 8 wins or better which is good enough to advance to the post season.
In the next tier comes Craig Milburn, Don Bartley, Curtis Cassidy and Scott Ballantyne all with records at or above .500.
Those 4 rinks will all be in action tonight and not head to head, which creates the perfect opportunity for them to nail down a spot in the playoff round.
Then there are the desperados; Lorne Johnson, Steve Gregg, Wade Walsh and Dave Cobean, all just under .500, but with only tonight and next week remaining, they’ve got to win and in the case of Johnson who has the bye next week, they’re going to need some help.
There are 15 teams in the Major League this year, and only of late have the frontrunners managed to distance themselves from the middle of the pack.
And while the top 4 rinks are worth watching tonight, the real interest will be found in the games featuring the 8 teams trying to either keep their heads above water or risk falling out of contention for the playoff round next month.
The Attack host Barrie at 7 tonight.
The curling action at Port Elgin and Kincardine starts at 9.
I’m Fred Wallace