Sense of satisfaction if no rest for committed IDCI Blue Bombers vice

Ingersoll DCI ‘guest skip’ Ben Timleck releases a rock with lead Ronan Cottrell preparing to sweep. (Jeff Tribe Photo)

Jeff Tribe, Echo Correspondent

There was no rest for the very committed Ingersoll DCI Blue Bombers boys curling vice Ben Timleck.

But there was a wicked sense of satisfaction with a tenacious, short-handed Thames Valley Regional Athletics comeback against the St. Thomas Parkside Stampeders midway through a day which would be considered busy by any standard.

“All around everyone played good,” he said. “A pretty decent result.”

Timleck’s Dec. 17 began with a trio of intramural ball hockey games, helping his team to a 3-0 start before heading to the Ingersoll District Curling Club. There, with fellow Grade 11 skip Carson Zylstra sick and second Dominique Ling on a field trip, Timleck found himself stepping up to skip a three-member team featuring Grade 9 rookies Thomas Anger and Ronan Cottrell, who typically share lead duties.

They started badly, giving up a three-ender to the visiting Stampeders right off the bat.

“I thought it was over,” Timleck confessed.

However, the Blue Bombers put up one in the second, trading singles through the next four ends before stealing two in the seventh, setting up a winner-take-all eighth and final end. It finished with Timleck attempting a tough, lengthy raise with his last rock which proved unsuccessful, Parkside counting two en route to a 7-5 final.

He didn’t have much time to talk, an indoor soccer game in Woodstock still to be played that evening and a chemistry test to study for following that. But Timleck did give full credit to Anger and Cottrell for significant progression, as illustrated by a competitive outing against Parkside, which moved to 4-0 with the win. Ingersoll stood at 2-1-1 heading into the Christmas break, tied for third with the Woodstock CI Red Devils, one point ahead of the fifth-place Woodstock St. Mary’s Warriors.

“I think we can win,” Timleck said. “Especially when we have our full team.”

“Just really proud of everyone,” Anger added.

The Bombers trio of Grade 11 students have been together for three years says co-community coach Roger Moyer (with Fred Erickson), a level of familiarity and experience allowing them to both gel and move past mechanics.

“So, they’re focussing more on strategy.”

The boys are calling a good game, credited staff co-coach Elaine Di Stefano (with Mike Bryson) and also executing well.

“And being rewarded.”

The Parkside game illustrated ongoing resiliency Moyer continued, first displayed during their initial league outing, an eventual 8-8 tie against Woodstock CI Red Devils in which they trailed 7-2 after four ends.

“In past years they may have gotten down and lost that game.”

The Red Devil boys are in a rebuilding phase, although skipped with considerable experience by Grade 12 Alexis Schaeffer, who is helping out with ‘everything’ credits vice Mikhail Petrukhnov, whose parents urged him to try the sport following their emigration to Canada.

Schaeffer has found the challenge and a different game approach to be ‘fun’, adjusting to a boys’ strategy of putting more rocks in the house, as opposed to hitting. She is trying to both assess and emphasize each player’s individual strengths, who likes in versus out-turns for example, who prefers draws to hitting. Her goal is both building for the future with a roster also featuring Grade 9 lead Grace Nelson, Grade 10 second Harry Langford and Grade 9 lead/second Ryan DeWit, and this year’s post-season, if possible.

“It’s definitely going a lot better than we thought,” Schaeffer smiled.

WCI and St. Mary’s tied 7-7 in a TVRA Southeast exhibition match on Dec. 16 in Woodstock, the Red Devils scoring doubles in the first and third ends, and three in the sixth. The Warriors scored singlets in the second, fourth and seventh, stealing three in the fifth and one in the eight to earn the split decision. The Warriors feature a mixed foursome, returning experience with skip Sebastian Lagos and vice Killean Coghlan balancing Grade 9 rookies Lucas Lowes and Isaiah Contestabile at second and lead respectively.

“I’m pretty proud of their ability to stay in a game,” credited Warriors coach Richard Murphy.

The Blue Bombers girls also suffered their first loss of the TVRA Southeast season to Parkside, falling behind even further than their male counterparts. Five and five doesn’t have the same ring as six and seven, however a five-point fifth end and steal of one in the sixth did make the final a more respectable 11-6 in the Stampeders favour.

IDCI skip Taylor Posthumus was battling illness on the day but gave the Stampeders full credit for the victory.

“They’re a good team.”

Beyond heading into the game somewhat under the weather, Posthumus and vice Jaelynn MacLeod also felt they were a little tight, opening scoring in an end in which they were more collected and relaxed, ‘a little more chill,’ in the skip’s words.

“I think we should start a little calmer,” MacLeod surmised.

Posthumus (Grade 11), MacLeod (Grade 12) and second Marley Papais give the Bombers experience at the back end, with Grade 9s Lucy Zimmerman and Tara Sharpe sharing the lead. Like their male counterparts, they are moving past basics and developing their overall game, Posthumus, MacLeod and for the boys, Zylstra stepping up to embrace leadership roles.

“That’s been a noticeable thing this year,” credited Moyer.

The 2-1 Bombers sat alone in third place at the Christmas break, one point back of the 2-2 St. Mary’s Warriors and jointly 3-1 Tillsonburg Glendale Gemini and Stampeders.