British Columbia's undefeated streak in men's curling at the Canada Winter Games came to an end Thursday night when Manitoba handed B.C. a 6-5 loss in semi-final play at the Prince George Golf and Curling Club.
The loss was not only B.C.'s first in six games but it relegated the team to the bronze-medal game. B.C. will play Saskatchewan on Friday, 1 p.m. start, while Manitoba will play Ontario for the gold, 5 p.m. start, at the PGGCC.
B.C. got off to a shaky start when it allowed Manitoba to steal two in the first end. B.C. skip Tyler Tardi attempted a takeout shot to the button with his final stone but it failed to stay in the house while two Manitoba stones remained lying in the 12-foot ring.
B.C. scored one in the third and Manitoba followed up with another two-point end in the fifth, this time with the hammer, to take a 4-1 lead going into the break.
B.C. missed an opportunity to score two in the sixth when Tardi's shot with the hammer went an inch too far, forcing the team to settle for one and a 4-2 deficit.
Manitoba scored two more in the sixth with the hammer after Tardi narrowly missed a double takeout on a hit and roll with his final stone. That left Manitoba lying one and skip Colin Kurz got his deuce with a simple draw to the rings.
B.C. got back within two in the ninth on a deuce with the hammer after Kurz sent his final stone through the house. B.C. gave itself a chance in the 10th, but Kurz took out one of B.C.'s two shot rocks for the win.
Ontario defeated Saskatchewan 9-5 in the other semi-final to advance to the gold medal game.
