1994 Ontario Tankard Explained
The 1994 Ontario Tankard, (known as the Blue Light Tankard for sponsorship reasons) the southern Ontario men's provincial curling championship was held February 8-13 at the St. Thomas-Elgin Memorial Arena in St. Thomas, Ontario.[1] The winning rink of Russ Howard, Glenn Howard, Wayne Middaugh and Peter Corner from the Penetanguishene Curling Club would go on to represent Ontario at the 1994 Labatt Brier in Red Deer, Alberta.
Team Howard of Penetanguishene entered the event as the defending World Champions, having won the 1993 World Men's Curling Championship. They easily beat the Axel Larsen rink from Guelph in the final, 9–4, in front of 2,236 fans. The turning point in the game came in the fourth end, when Larsen accidentally bumped one of Howard's rocks into the rings on his first, which eventually resulted in a score of three for Howard in the end, taking a 5–1 lead. It was the eighth provincial championship for Howard.[2]
There were rumours during the event that Howard would decline the opportunity to represent Ontario at the Brier due to a dispute over not being allowed to use their sponsors on their sweaters.[2]
Standings
Final standings[3]
| Skip | Club[4] | Wins | Losses |
|---|
| Penetanguishene | 8 | 2 |
| Axel Larsen | Guelph | 7 | 3 |
| West Ottawa Granite | 7 | 3 |
| Churchill | 6 | 4 |
| Mike Altenhof | | 6 | 4 |
| Thornhill | 5 | 5 |
| | 4 | 6 |
| Ron Diguer | West Ottawa Granite | 4 | 6 |
| Oshawa | 3 | 7 |
| Oakville | 3 | 7 |
| Bob Ray | Land O'Lakes | 2 | 7 | |
Scores
February 8
- Draw 1[5]
- Werenich 10, Altenhof 4
- Diguer 6, Turcotte 4
- Steski 7, Ray 3
- Base 9, Howard 6
- Robertson 7, Larsen 6
- Draw 2
- Turcotte 10, Ray 3
- Larsen 8, Howard 5
- Werenich 7, Base 5
- Johnston 10, Altenhof 7
- Robertson 7, Diguer 4
February 9
- Draw 3[6]
- Johnston 7, Base 6
- Howard 10, Diguer 1
- Ray 8, Robertson 4
- Steski 9, Turcotte 2
- Larsen 10, Werenich 8
- Draw 4
- Robertson 9, Steski 8
- Werenich 7, Diguer 5
- Larsen 7, Johnston 5
- Altenhof 9, Base 2
- Howard 10, Ray 4
- Draw 5
- Altenhof 7, Larsen 4
- Ray 9, Werenich 7
- Howard 6, Steski 2
- Turcotte 8, Robertson 6
- Johnston 9, Diguer 4
February 10
- Draw 6[7]
- Howard 6, Turcotte 4
- Johnston 7, Ray 6
- Altenhof 7, Diguer 5
- Larsen 7, Base 4
- Werenich 7, Steski 5
- Draw 7
- Diguer 10, Base 7
- Johnston 8, Steski 7
- Werenich 8, Turcotte 6
- Howard 9, Robertson 2
- Altenhof 7, Ray 4
February 11
- Draw 8[8]
- Robertson 6, Werenich 5
- Steski 11, Altenhof 5
- Base 8, Ray 3
- Larsen 9, Diguer 6
- Johnston 10, Turcotte 5
- Draw 9
- Larsen 8, Ray 6
- Altenhof 9, Turcotte 6
- Johnston 6, Robertson 3
- Howard 7, Werenich 4
- Base 9, Steski 7
- Draw 10
- Howard 10, Johnston 6
- Turcotte 8, Base 5
- Steski 9, Larsen 8
- Diguer 9, Ray 4
- Altenhof 8, Robertson 5
February 11
- Draw 11[3]
- Diguer 9, Steski 3
- Robertson 7, Base 2
- Howard 7, Altenhof 5
- Werenich 13, Johnston 8
- Larsen 13, Turcotte 6
Playoffs
Semifinal
February 12[9]
Final
February 13[10]
Notes and References
- News: Wrench wins pair, Howard stumbles. February 9, 1994. 41. Waterloo Region Record. January 28, 2024.
- News: Back to the Brier: Howard rink best out of Ontario again. February 14, 1994. 48. Ottawa Citizen. January 28, 2024.
- News: Curling. February 13, 1994. 77. Toronto Star. January 28, 2024.
- News: Curling. February 8, 1994. 22. St. Catharines Standard. January 28, 2024.
- News: Curling. February 9, 1994. 43. Toronto Star. January 28, 2024.
- News: Curling. February 10, 1994. 30. Ottawa Citizen. January 28, 2024.
- News: Curling. February 11, 1994. 24. Ottawa Citizen. January 28, 2024.
- News: Curling. February 12, 1994. 67. Toronto Star. January 28, 2024.
- News: Ontario Men's. February 13, 1994. 7. Edmonton Journal. January 28, 2024.
- News: Curling. February 14, 1994. 24. Ottawa Citizen. January 28, 2024.
