There will be a new B.C. men’s curling champion and he will not hail from Greater Victoria.
Two-time defending champion Jim Cotter and the Victoria Curling Centre’s final representative, Neil Dangerfield, were both eliminated from the Canadian Direct B.C. Men’s Provincial Championship on Friday afternoon.
Cotter, of Vernon, was dumped 9-5 by Tom Buchy of Kimberley, while Dangerfield lost 8-5 to Trevor Perepolkin of Vernon, both in C-event quarter-finals at Parksville Curling Club.
Perepolkin popped Dangerfield with a pair of three-enders on the way to the victory. It was the same storyline for Cotter.
“Every team has been sharp out there and it’s been a tough competition,” said Dangerfield, who lost 10-6 to Brent Pierce of the Royal City Curling Club in B-semifinal play. “We put a lot of rocks in play but, unfortunately with that strategy, the other teams have a lot of rocks in play. Sometimes it backfires.”
Dangerfield lost an A-event semifinal 10-9 the night before, allowing a three-ender in the 10th to Andrew Bilesky of Royal City. “With one more shot, we would have got by him there,” said Dangerfield, who never recovered, losing two straight on Friday.
Pierce went on to grab the B-event title 7-6 over Bilesky in the afternoon to advance to the Page Playoff 1-2 game versus Sean Geall.
Bilesky and Buchy claimed the final two playoff spots in C finals on Friday. They will face each other in the Page 3-4 game at 11 a.m. today while Geall faces Pierce in the 1-2 outing.
