By Jeff D'Andrea

Team Lakeland boys curling team a family affair; 3-0 in pool

Feb 21, 2014 | 5:11 PM

Team Lakeland’s boys curling team could not be a more tight-knit club, and they’re 3-0 as a result heading into the Saskatchewan Winter Games playoffs.

The team is made up of two sets of Spiritwood brothers, including the Reddekopp’s in skip Brett and second Garrett, and the Thompson’s in third Craig and lead Devyn.

Terry Thompson, Craig and Devyn’s father, is the team’s coach to make the team entirely made up of just two families.

“We’re quite close, for sure,” said 16-year-old skip Brett. “It’s a different dynamic. You’d say something different to your brother than you’d say to a normal teammate, right?

“Once on the ice, we gotta act like we’re not animals. We have to act like we know the game, not fight and we’ll play good.”

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Although they’re 3-0 and first in their pool, they had quite a scare during Friday’s afternoon draw. They squeaked by South East rink Brayden Stewart in 9-6 in an extra end.

Reddekopp and company were down 6-2 after four ends after giving up a three-ender in the third and a steal in the fourth. 

“We just had to keep truckin’, our mindset was terrible for the first few ends,” said Brett.

But they were able to crawl back in the game with a three-ender of their own in the fifth and a deuce in the seventh to make it 8-7 heading into the final end.

Reddekopp got a steal of one in the eighth end to tie the game into an extra end as he forced Stewart to a very difficult draw, which he was light on.

In the extra end, Reddekopp filled the top of the house with three rocks, forcing Stewart to draw for the button for the win. He was heavy as he flashed his last rock, giving Reddekopp the steal of three.

Because Stewart had the hammer, the Lakeland simply had to lean on their brooms and hope. Brett said the moment was “extremely” nerve-wracking

“I knew he just threw a takeout, so I figured he might be heavy,” said Brett. “It was running a little quick on that side, but I didn’t think he’d throw it threw.

“He’s a good skip and he’s a real good guy. I didn’t think he’d do that. We just kept piling rocks in, we only needed one point, we didn’t need three.”

Yet to lose a game, Lakeland is headed to the semifinals and are one win away from the gold medal match. To get there, they’ll have to beat Dallas Burnett (3-1 in his pool), representing Rivers West.

On the girls side, Lakeland’s rink skipped by Ashley Thevenot went 2-2 and will head to the B-side of the playoffs. 

jdandrea@panow.com

On Twitter: @jeff_dandrea