By MARIO ANNICCHIARICO
Welcome back, Cotter. It was as if he never left. Jim Cotter, last-rock thrower for the Bob Ursel rink, made it two straight Diversified Transportation Canada Cup Qualifier championships, leading Ursel’s Kelowna, B.C., foursome to an 8-6 win over hometown favourite Kevin Martin on Monday night at the Saville Sports Centre.
SHAUGHN BUTTS, THE JOURNAL
 Bob Ursel follows the rocks during Monday’s game against Kevin Martin.
Cotter threw final stones for the Pat Ryan rink back in the 2004 win, but didn’t participate in ’06. Ursel’s lead, Rick Sawatsky, was also a part of that Ryan victory and enjoyed Monday’s championship along with second Kevin Folk.
The hero of the night was Cotter, who didn’t miss much against the favoured and fan-supported Martin rink.
“Both (wins) feel great, obviously,” said Cotter. “In ’04, and here, we played great teams all the way through. There’s never an easy road at this ’spiel. It feels great to do it again.”
And again, and again, in Cotter’s instance. He was clutch, especially in the middle-to-late ends.
“He was fantastic,” said a delighted Ursel, whose team gets back on a winning note, having won their first event this season in Vernon, B.C. It’s been a struggle since then, however.
“Man, we’re thrilled to death. Wewere struggling up until now,” explained Ursel. “We went three ’spiels without qualifying and we knew coming in here we had to turn it around, start playing better, and we did.”
No arguments there, and no one knows it better than Martin.
“They made some real good shots,” said Martin. “When you’re down to a good team, it’s tough to come back and Jim made some real good shots — key shots late in the game. He was on.”
Martin suffered through four picks in three ends and the frustration was starting to show, not only with him but the entire rink.
Up until the fifth, the two teams had traded singles, with Ursel having the hammer in the first. Martin gambled in the fifth. Staring at two Ursel stones, he opted to draw around his own guard and between two yellow stones. It picked just over halfway down and he left Cotter a draw, with some backing, for three and a 5-2 lead.
Ursel’s rink gave two back in the sixth and could have frittered more away on a draw gamble of their own. Facing four, Ursel decided to shun a raise takeout directly in front. Cotter threw a perfect draw, but Martin did have a chance at four. His final rock shifted the house around dramatically, but a measure left him with just two to trail 5-4. He gave a deuce right back in the seventh as Ursel made it 7-4.
Cotter forced a blank in eight, following Martin’s solid double-takeout that lined up a deuce, with a double whammy of his own. Martin managed two in the ninth, but failed to steal in the 10th as Cotter played a takeout with his last rock to count one.
“The guys were setting things up,” said Cotter, whose team rattled off seven straight wins to claim the $12,000 top prize. “After each win you gain a little more confidence and it pretty much felt like you can make anything.”
Martin earned $8,000 for the runnerup finish and took over top spot on the World Curling Tour, becoming the first to the six-figure mark at $104,553, just ahead of Glenn Howard’s $99,900.
Ursel nearly matched his season’s previous total of $12,500 with the $12,000 win.
Martin and his rink of third John Morris, second Marc Kennedy and lead Ben Hebert defeated Winnipeg’s Mike McEwen 7-5 in an afternoon semifinal, while Ursel edged veteran Russ Howard of Oromocto, N.B., 7-6 in the other.
In the morning, Ursel ousted New Westminster, B.C.’s, Sean Geall 5-2 in the quarter-final, while Martin hammered on Saville Centre’s Kevin Koe 9-2 before defeating Winnipeg’s Mike McEwen 7-5 in the semi.
In the women’s Canada Cup qualifier final in Ottawa, Marie-France Larouche of Levis, Que., beat Amber Holland of Regina 6-4.
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