Starting Jan. 29, the 2020 SaskTel Tankard Men’s Provincial Championship returns to Melville for the first time in a half decade.
Melville played host to the event back in 2015.
When action gets under way at the Horizon Credit Union Centre there will be some familiar faces for local fans. Team Jacobson’s last visit to Melville was when they hit the ice against Team Steve Laycock in the 2015 Tankard final.
Closer to home, the Hartung foursome from Langenburg; skip Kody Hartung third brother Tyler Hartung, second Jayden Shwaga and lead Mark Larsen, are back in search of a title after finishing fourth in 2019.
The team, or at least half of it, have experience in Melville to draw on.
“Tyler and I played for Dad the last time the Tankard was in Melville,” said skip Kody.
Being from Langenburg the Hartung rink will be the fan favourite for many, a situation Kody Hartung said is more positive than it is pressure creating.
“I would say no to any added pressure,” he said. “You always want to play well in front of the fans.”
When those fans are solidly being a team it is actually a source of energy that the players can draw on.
“That is an added bonus ... It gets the blood pumping and the adrenaline going,” said Hartung.
Going into action in Melville, Hartung said his team is looking to salvage something positive from a season that has not gone smoothly.
“We’ve had a little bit of a down season,” he said, noting it has not helped that third Tyler Hartung has been sidelined much of the season with a broken toe. He is finally healed and back in action which puts the team back in a more familiar alignment as the championship rolls around.
Certainly having family ties, Larsen is a brother-in-law, helps build spirit on the team, although Kody said he and brother Tyler may not always jive in their approach to a shot.
“My brother’s not shy to say anything to anyone,” he said, but added when differences do arise “we’re pretty good at working things out.”
Last year the Hartung rink ended up in the three versus four page playoff losing out at that point. They want a better result this time, and that means getting off to a solid start.
“You definitely want to come out strong from the start,” said Kody Hartung, adding they want to qualify from the ‘A’ or ‘B’ side, so that come playoffs they can lose a game and still be in the mix.
“You want to get into the playoffs with that extra life,” he said.
It won’t be easy as all three teams that finished ahead of the Hartung foursome are back for another run at the crown, including the Kirk Muyres rink from Saskatoon who won the championship in 2019.
Kody Hartung said knowing the other teams means less surprises, and keeps their approach well-defined.
“I think it simplifies it. You know what teams do going in,” he offered, adding “if you want to beat the top teams you have to play your game.”
So what is the Hartung team’s strength?
“The middle of our team can throw the high, hard ones,” said Kody Hartung, adding if a house gets messy and they need to “bang some rocks around (to clean things up), we can do that.”
While Hartung notes the game has changed in the 15 years he has curled to where take-outs are less a part of the game, it’s a good card to have to play when needed.
The team can also play the finesse game, the ability to bump and move rocks around the rings to score.
The other key is keeping focused in games, even if you get behind early.
With the current five rock rule there are generally lots of stones in play, so scoring three or four in an end to climb back into a game is far more common today, said Hartung.
“You can never give up, never get down,” he said.
Draw 1 of the championship will hit the ice Wednesday Jan. 29, at 2:30 p.m. where team Hartung will start off versus Josh Heidt from Kerrobert.
The championship winner will represent Saskatchewan at the 2020 Tim Hortons Brier, February 29 – March 8 in Kingston, Ontario.
