This post is a must read! Team Martin were pitted against Team McCoy. The last time we played was in Div D, where Team Martin got a last end steal of 3 to win 8-6.

End 1:
A few misses resulted in two McCoy rocks frozen on the button. Icky attempts a difficult angle raise takeout, which promoted our rock onto one of the McCoy rocks but at an angle which just missed making enough contact to remove their stone. Greg McCoy draws to the top 8 with his first skip stone. Icky then attempts a double takeout, but only manages to remove one. Greg draws for 3 and succeeds.

End 2:
We sat one on the button until McCoy got a fortunate break and froze a stone ontop of ours. The way they were frozen allowed them to bump our rock back and sit two rocks frozen on the button and guarded and shot. Icky is left with nothing and throws the last rock through, conceeding one point. Actually, he hogged the stone, because all the guards meant he had nowhere to throw it through.

End 3:
Team Martin plays a strong end, until Icky's last rock. An elementary hit and stick was the shot, but icky throws it slightly outside and jams. A likely three points is diminished to 1 and we trail 1-4.

End 4:
Greg is left with a hit and stick for 2 and takes a 6-1 lead.

End 5:
Team McCoy sit shot and second shot spaced evenly in the top 8. Team Martin is 3rd shot. With his final stone, Icky attempts a double takeout for 2, but hits the first rock to thin and is unable to carry the momentum to remove the second rock. Worse still, we give up a steal of 1 to trail 1-7.

End 6:
So we are in the depths of defeat. As the end progressed, more and more McCoy rocks ended up in the house. Their rocks in the house were somewhat planned on my part, because I was trying to set up some jams, but not 4 of them with the three closest and two on the button and guarded. Icky's first shot was an attempt to remove some of the McCoy stones as follows:

The shot was thrown a little inside the broom, but the sweepers held the line down the ice and the result was an incredible hit on stone 2 into stones 3 and 4 to execute a triple takeout, and the shooter stayed in the house as rock 1. Icky is smothered with congratulations from adjacent skips. Greg decided to draw to the house to sit two with last rock, but is a little deep. They still sat first and second shot. Icky decides on another circus shot, this time a raise double takeout:

The shot was executed perfectly, and by holding the shooter, we end up with an unlikely 4 points. Icky was showered with more kudos and praise by the Magnificent Maurice, Julie the Female Skip, and Patrick Dzijacky. Team McCoy was shocked at the outcome of that end, but were nonetheless impressed by the Brier-quality shot making. Team Martin trails 5-7 as we go into the final end.

End 7:
Down by two, we were able to get a couple of rocks in play. Sitting shot rock, Icky tries a corner freeze on a McCoy stone in the top 8 so it partiall guarded the shot stone and was usable in a little hit to sit two when Icky plays his last rock. Unfortunately, Icky called for too much ice, setting up a double which Greg made easily and running us out of stones to win. Icky tries a hit and roll (almost made it) with last rock to sit one. Team McCoy hits and a partial jam lead to just one point. Team McCoy beats Team Martin 8-5 in what was a tough game for us. We missed a couple too many hits today, but what an incredible end 6.