CBC Sports: Martin wins curling’s Canada Cup
Kevin Martin, seen in this file photo, won his second straight Canada Cup of Curling title on Sunday. (CP Photo)
WebPosted Sun, 05 Feb 2006 15:23:13 EST
CBC Sports
It went down to the wire and was tooth and nail all the way before the defending champion finally prevailed.
* FROM FEB. 4, 2006: King wins Canada Cup of Curling
Edmonton’s Kevin Martin made a perfect shot to the button in the 10th end to edge Glenn Howard of Coldwater, Ont., 5-4 Sunday in the Canada Cup of Curling final in Kamloops, B.C.
After a fairly conservative first few ends, things really heated up down the stretch in this championship.
“They (Team Howard) kept making the doubles and getting themselves out of trouble,” Martin told CBC. “We were a couple up on Glenn last time too and he came back It was a heck of a game.
“We played pretty well the last three games. The guys played awesome. It was a good show.
Martin and his team took a 2-0 lead in the third end. Howard and his mates got one back in the fourth before Martin went up 3-1 in the sixth. Howard got two in the seventh to even it up, and the teams traded singles in the eighth and ninth ends, setting up the fabulous finish.
“They’re one of the best teams in the world,” Howard said. “My guys played awesome and we had a great comeback It looked like it was déjà vu.
“The same sort of score lines were going along and I thought we might have been able to pull it out at the end. But Kevin’s pretty tough and made a great shot to beat us.”
Martin took the tough road to the final. The 2002 Olympic silver medallist breezed through the round-robin competition with a 5-0 record but dropped a 5-4 decision to Howard in a contest between the Pool A and Pool B winners.
Martin made the most of a second opportunity with a victory over Calgary’s John Morris Saturday in the semifinal.
Martin won last year’s Canada Cup with a 6-5 decision over two-time Cup champion Randy Ferbey.
Martin’s team includes Don Bartlett, Carter Rycroft and Don Walchuk.
The foursome collected a prize of $33,500 and the invitation to return as the defending champion for the 2007 Cup.
Copyright © CBC 2006
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