Stoughton thrashes Flin Flon team

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Jeff Stoughton in his first match Wednesday afternoon against Flin Flon's Brad Hyrich.

DAUPHIN — Jeff Stoughton thrashed Flin Flon’s Brad Hyrich 11-2 here Wednesday afternoon to get his title defence off to a convincing start on the opening day of the 2012 Safeway Manitoba Mens Curling Championship.

Stoughton — the defending Manitoba, Canadian and world champion — took four-enders with the hammer in the first and fourth ends and stole three more in the fifth end to take an 11-1 lead into the fifth end break. The two teams played two more ends after that before Hyrich had enough and proferred a handshake.

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Sean Grassie in his first match of the day at Manitoba Men's Curling Championship in Dauphin. He beat Pembina’s Dave Johnson 9-2. (BORIS MINKEVICH / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS)

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Fourth seed Willie Lyburn beat Curtis McCannell of Pilot Mound 7-3. (BORIS MINKEVICH / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS)

It wasn’t much of a test, but Stoughton said his team tried to turn the Hyrich game into a learning experience.

"It’s still nice to see how the rocks were running and get out there and throw a few. It never hurts," Stoughton said.

Hyrich, who is making his third appearance at a provincial mens curling championship, was disappointed in his own play. "The game should have been a lot closer," said Hyrich.

"That first end I blew both my first draws. And then I maybe just got too far down on myself after that."

In other games on the 4 p.m. draw, fifth seed Daley Peters defeated Burntwood’s Rae Hainstock 7-5; Assiniboine-Memorial’s Jason Gunnlaugson thrashed West St. Paul’s Carl German 9-2; West Kildonan’s Trevor Loreth blew a 4-0 lead to lose 9-4 to Ste. Anne’s Murray Woodward; and Granite’s Scott Ramsay beat Pembina’s Jim Coleman 11-6.

The Safeway Championship continues Wednesday evening when the last two teams who have yet to play their first game — Brandon’s Terry McNamee and Neepawa’s Jerry Chudley — face each other. There will also be four other elimination games on the evening draw, involving eight of the teams who lost earlier today. Carberry’s Rob Van Kommer plays Dauphin’s Glen Toews; East St. Paul’s Rob Atkins plays Dauphin’s Rae Kujanpaa; Pembina’s Dave Johnson plays David Hamblin of Morris; and St. Vital’s Bruce Jones plays Stonewall’s Jared Kolomaya.