Epping Wins First in KW

Sudbury's John Epping (photo: Anil Mungal, GSOC) won 6-4 over Toronto's Daniel Hocevar. Hocevar opened the scoring in the first end, drawing for two points and the early lead. In the second end, Epping, with Jake Horgan at third, Tanner Horgan at second and Ian MacMillan, attempted an angled tap to add a third point, sliding it just through the four-foot. Hocevar, backed by Jacob Jones at third, Joel Matthews at second, and Matthew Duizer at lead, blanked the third end and was left with a buried Epping stone on his last in the fourth end. The last shot chip was for two points, though a pick-up early in the shot caused it to over-curl, giving Epping a stolen point. Epping was left lying two in the fifth end, forcing Hocevar to hit for a single point to even the score. Tied at three a piece in the sixth end, Epping took control of the game, drawing for two points, then forced Hocevar to a single in the seventh end. Up one with hammer in the last end, Epping finished the game by picking out a Hocevar shot stone, adding another point to their total for the 6-4 win. Play continues through the 19-team triple knockout bracket, with Epping advancing to the A-semifinals against Alex Champ of Toronto, while Hocevar drops into the B-event, where they will take on Mike Fournier of Toronto. Both games go at 4 pm Eastern Time (ET) at the KW Granite Club in Waterloo, Ontario. Champ won 8-3 over Pat Ferris of Grimsby in their lone game thus far.