It was likely the perfect time to get the effort they were looking for.
Brad Jacobs and his team from the Community First Curling Centre in Sault Ste. Marie improved to 6-0 on Friday at the 2017 Travellers Men's Provincials in Thunder Bay.
The team, which includes third Ryan Fry, second E.J. Harnden and lead Ryan Harnden, won a battle of unbeaten team to open the day, beating Dylan Johnston of the host Fort William Curling Club 8-2 in eight ends.
Jacobs got off to a hot start, scoring four with the hammer in the second end to take the early lead. Leading 4-1 and after blanking the fourth and fifth ends, Jacobs scored deuces in the sixth and eighth ends to seal the victory.
“I feel like usually around this point is usually when we do start to turn it around. That was our fifth game there and it usually takes anywhere from three to five games to get sharp,” Jacobs told TBNewsWatch. "The ice has been a little tough. We saw a little bit more curl out there today and I think that helps our team.”
The Jacobs rink completed the day with an 8-3 win in eight ends over Sudbury's Tanner Horgan in the evening draw.
After taking a 3-0 lead thanks to a deuce with the hammer in one and a steal of one more in the second, Jacobs also score on in the fourth, three more in the sixth and tacked on another single in the eighth en route to the victory.
The Jacobs concludes round robin action on Saturday morning against nine-time provincial champion Al Hackner, who enters the game with a 3-3 record and still in the hunt for a playoff berth.
Chris Glibota of the Copper Cliff Curling Club in Sudbury,a Sault Ste. Marie native, picked up a pair of wins on Friday to improve to 3-3 in the event.
In the afternoon draw Glibota beat Jordan Chandler of the Sudbury Curling Club 7-1 before finishing the day with a 7-5 win over Bryan Burgess of the Kakabeka Falls Curling Club 7-5 in the evening draw.
Glibota will wrap up the round robin on Saturday morning against Ryan Sayer of the Home Granite Curling Club in New Liskeard.
Semifinal action is set for Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. with the final set for Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. The tournament winner will represent northern Ontario at the 2017 Tim Horton’s Brier in St. John’s Nfld. The Brier opens on Mar. 4
