Ryan Garven didn’t waste any time making a name for himself at the Molson Tankard yesterday afternoon.
In his career debut at the Nova Scotia men’s curling championship, Garven blasted defending champion and second-ranked Mark Dacey 11-2 in the afternoon draw at the Mayflower Curling Club in the most surprising result of the day.
The Mayflower skip is seeded 15th and hasn’t curled competitively for several years, making the upset victory over a former Brier champ that much more impressive.
“Mark’s a tough guy to try to figure out — he’s one of the best curlers in the world,” Garven said. “But we were up for the challenge. We played our best and the guys on my team stepped up and put a lot of shots together.”
Garven, along with mate Peter MacPhee, second Brad Meisner and lead Rob MacArthur, will face Chris Sutherland today at 9 a.m. in the modified triple-knockout event.
“Hopefully we show up and play just as well as today,” he said.
Garven’s wasn’t the only upset victory yesterday. Unaffiliated Mark Robar, ranked 16th, took down No. 1 Shawn Adams 6-5 in the morning, showing the strength and depth of the field at this year’s Tankard. The coveted spot at next month’s Brier at the Metro Centre won’t be secured easily.
“I might have sat out the past couple of years, watching from behind the glass, but this might be the most competitive Tankard we’ve had in a long time,” Garven said.
Teams off to 2-0 starts are Doug MacKenzie and Jamie Murphy, both of Mayflower. Unbeaten at 1-0 are Garven and clubmate Ian Fitzner-LeBlanc; Chester’s Chad Stevens; and Sutherland, who is unaffiliated. Adams won last night and is 1-1.
