They were facing the business end of a double-barreled threat.
They had to win both games.
But rather than see their trip to the Canadian visually impaired curling championship come to a premature end, the Prince George rink that makes up Team B.C. found a way to survive.
The cards could not have played out any better for Team B.C. Thursday in Ottawa.
Shane McCreery's Prince George Golf and Curling Club crew started out with a 7-5 win over Ontario in their final round-robin game, then came from behind to defeat Alberta 8-7 in a tiebreaker.
The Alberta game was a nailbiter for McCreery and his team of third Floyd Kennedy, second Terry Pipkey, lead Peter Henry, sweeper Caroline Markel and guide/coach Norm Carne. Tied 2-2, Alberta scored five in the fifth end and led 7-3 going into the seventh end.
"We figured that we were down and out until we stole four points in the seventh end, tying the game going into the eighth," said Carne.
"In the eighth, they had a rock buried on the button, but when their skip tried to guard it, he inadvertently raised our rock onto it, giving us shot rock and the winning point."
Alberta and B.C. finished the round robin with identical 3-3 records. Team Canada forced the tiebreaker when it defeated Alberta Thursday morning. That gave Canada a 6-0 record and a berth in the final
The win over Alberta qualified B.C. for a semifinal encounter against Newfoundland today at 6 a.m. PST.
The winner advances to the championship game later today against Team Canada.
Former Prince George resident Dean Martell is the skip for the Kelowna-based Team Canada, which has won the event in all six years of its existence.
