Horgan rink brings home silver at Canadian championships

Like most everyone following the 2016 Canadian Junior Curling Championships in Stratford this week, Northern Ontario skip Tanner Horgan knew just how good the Manitoba team could be.

Perhaps, he hoped, the Matt Dunstone skipped rink would not be quite "that good" as the two met in the final Sunday afternoon.

No such luck for the locals. With the older, more experienced Manitoba foursome curling "lights out", Horgan and company (Jacob Horgan - vice, Nick Bissonnette - second, Maxime Blais - lead) struggled to keep things close, eventually dropping an 11-4 decision, and settling for silver medals.

Opening with last shot advantage, Horgan and company scored a pair in the first end. But by the time the teams recharged their collective batteries following the fifth end, that early lead seemed but a distant memory, Manitoba having surged to a 7-3 lead, and holding the hammer in the sixth.

Another three-point end pretty much sealed the deal, as the Dunstone rink captured their second national junior crown, winning for the first time back in 2013. The win also marked the four straight for the province of Manitoba, with the Brendan Calvert rink squeezing in a pair between the Dunstone bookends.

Thankfully, a silver lining was not at all difficult to find for the young local curlers, all of whom are eligible to return for three more years at the junior level.

Qualifying for the championship playoff round for a third straight time was expected of Team Horgan.

Even a solid run at earning a berth in the semi-final matchup seemed like a reasonable goal for the NOCA representatives at the beginning of the week.

But a streak that propelled the team directly into the spotlight encounter, that represented a rare aligning of the stars. Yes, most would expect the Horgan crew to be a pretty good bet to don Northern Ontario colours again at the Canadian Juniors, likely putting themselves in position to have a shot at a top three placing later in the week.

But duplicating this year's performance, that will not be easy. Recognizing this, Horgan (times two), Bissonnette and Blais will savour their accomplishments. Deservingly so.