Wiebe, Chambers reach final four at Viterra

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This article was published 12/02/2022 (1587 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

SELKIRK – After coming one game short of reaching the Page playoff at the 2020 provincials in Winnipeg, Ryan Wiebe has reached the final four in his second trip to the Viterra Championship.

The 21-year-old skip from the Fort Rouge Curling Club – who plays with third Ty Dilello, second Sean Flatt and lead Adam Flatt – defeated Braden Calvert’s Assiniboine squad by a score of 6-5 at the Selkirk Curling Club this afternoon to earn a spot in the 3 vs. 4 contest later tonight.

“We’re fired up right now after beating two really tough teams today,” said Wiebe, who eliminated defending champion Jason Gunnlaugson on Saturday morning.

“We’re playing with a ton of confidence right now and I think these wins show that we can play with these guys. I know we’re one of the younger teams here but we don’t feel that out of place.”

Wiebe just missed out on a spot in the final four two years ago in his Viterra debut, as he lost a playoff qualifier to Sean Grassie.

“I think the biggest difference this time around is that we took everything one game at a time,” Wiebe said. “A couple of years ago, the lights felt a little bit brighter and we kind of kept thinking of what the next game was going to be.

“This year, we’re preparing more for who our opponent is, playing a good game against them and moving on to what’s next. It’s working well for us so far and we’ve been playing super well.”

The loss to Wiebe put the capper on a rough Saturday for Calvert and his rink, which includes Kyle Kurz, Ian McMillan and Rob Gordon.

The Carberry product had a 6-3 lead over Mike McEwen after eight ends of a 1 vs. 2 Page playoff qualifier in the morning draw, only to give up three points in the ninth frame and a steal in the tenth to drop a 7-6 decision.

“It’s going to be a long off-season,” Calvert said. “Obviously we’re pretty disappointed with how it turned out, especially when we gave up a steal of two to Wiebe in the sixth and allowing three in the ninth to McEwen when we were in control of things, but we just weren’t on the right side of things today.

“We dug deep this week though and after a pretty strange year with COVID-19 affecting our preparation, I’m proud of the guys for getting this close.”

Wiebe’s opponent in the 3 vs. 4 Page playoff game – which starts at 6 p.m. – will be Fort Garry’s Corey Chambers, who plays with Julien Leduc, Devon Wiebe and Stu Shiells.

Chambers advanced with a 7-2 triumph over former Brandonite William Lyburn and his Granite squad, which includes Scott McDonald, Kennedy Bird, Wade Ford and Bryce McEwen.

“Even though we’ve played the max amount of games that you can at this event, we’re just continuing to roll along and our confidence is at an all-time high right now,” said Chambers, who reached the provincial final in 2013 as the vice for Sean Grassie’s rink, which Shiells was the lead for.

“We had a super tough loss in an extra end last night (to McEwen) but we had put ourselves in a perfect spot to win that game. It’s all about trusting the process and continuing to play well, which we have.”

The only blemish in Chambers’ win came in the seventh end when Wiebe slipped and crashed hard into the ice following a takeout attempt by the skip.

“Devon does motocross in the summer and he told us that he’s had a lot worse wrecks,” Chambers joked.

Saturday night’s draw will also see Colton Lott squaring off with McEwen in the 1 vs. 2 Page playoff, with the winning earning a spot in Sunday’s championship contest at 2:30 p.m.

The loser will face the winner of the Chambers and Wiebe matchup in the semifinal tomorrow at 9 a.m.

> lpunkari@brandonsun.com

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