'Road to the Roar' - Mid-Week Update

So the ‘Road to the Roar’ is approaching the halfway mark, and is ready to award its first ‘Roar of the Rings’ births today.

Women’s
The Women’s side has seen a fair number of upsets take place over the first two days, including both Larouche and Sherry Middaugh losing their quarter-final matchups. That has created an interesting B and C bracket, where some sides are somewhat ‘weak’, and others have top-seeds going head-to-head in an effort to stay alive. A good example is the bottom half of the B bracket, which had King, Englot, Larouche and Middaugh all fighting for one birth in the B Finals….and even that road leads through the A final loser.

Speaking of which, this afternoon’s A Final sees Kelly Scott go up against Crystal Webster. Kelly Scott is no surprise to be in the finals here, but the same can’t be said of Webster…a relative unknown. I’d obviously go with the favourite in this one, but Webster managed to get past Sherry Middaugh…so who knows. The winner moves onto Edmonton, with the loser dropping down to the B Side. They will play the winner of the Larouche/King matchup for a birth in the B Finals.

There have been two eliminations going into Thursday: Englot and Belise.

Men's
Things on the Men’s Side have gone a little bit more to form. The biggest surprise will be the presence of Pat Simmons in tonights A Final (v. Stoughton). Simmons is a better team than his #10 ranking may suggest, but he’s travelled a tough road, beating Menard, Middaugh and Gushue to get this far. For those keeping track, those defeated teams combine for 3 Briers, 2 World Championships and an Olympic Gold Medal.

I’d again pick Stoughton tonight, but I’d like to see Simmons get through as well. The loser will drop onto the B-Side and play the winner of the Middaugh/Ursel matchup.

There have been no eliminations on the Men’s side as of yet, but Gunnlaugson, Jordison, Burtynk and McAulay are all down to their final loss. These 4 teams will duke it out for one spot on the C1 Final…the rest will be going home!

Be sure to check out the tournament bracket, being updated here.