Three wins Thursday catapulted Keith Ryan's rink from the host Carol Curling Club into instant contention at the provincial men's Labatt Tankard in Labrador City.
Ryan and his rink of third Barry Edwards, second Mike Ryan and lead Dennis Langdon beat Rick Rowsell of the Re/Max Centre (St. John's Curling Club) 6-3 in the evening draw for the team's third win of the day.
Ryan and Alex Smith (Re/Max Centre) are atop the standings with identical 5-1 records, while defending champ Brad Gushue of Bally Haly in St. John's is 4-2 and tied for third with Mark Noseworthy and Bob Skanes, both out of the Re/Max Centre.
Ryan scored three times in the fifth end to break a 2-2 tie with Rowsell, who got one back in the eighth. But a single by Ryan in the next end put the game away.
Ryan started the day by downing Gushue 9-4, scoring three-pointers in the third and eighth ends on his way to victory.
Ryan a former Tankard champ, second for Gushue
It was probably a little more satisfying than the other wins on the day.
Ryan played as second for a year with Gushue before being replaced by Mike Adam prior to the start of the 2005-06 season. Gushue's rink then went on to win Olympic gold medal in Torino. Adam, who was the fifth man on that team, was also dropped later by Gushue, as was Jamie Korab. Both Adam and Korab are playing with Noseworthy at this year's Tankard.
Ryan, who skipped the 2001 Tankard champions, also had a 7-1, seven-end win over Dean Branton of Re/Max Centre.
The 10-team event continues today with Draw 9 at 9:30 (island time) this morning, followed by draws at 2:30 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Saturday is set for possible tie-breakers and the semifinal, with the final going 8 p.m. Sunday.
The provincial winner will represent Newfoundland and Labrador at the 2008 Tim Hortons Brier March 8-16 in Winnipeg, Man.
Standings after eight draws
Alex Smith, 5-1
Keith Ryan, 5-1
Mark Noseworthy, 5-1
Bob Skanes, 4-2
Brad Gushue, 4-2
Gary Wensman, 3-3
Dean Branton, 2-4
Jeff Staples, 2-4
Rick Rowsell, 1-5
Bruce Adam, 0-6
THURSDAY'S SCORES
Draw 6
Skanes 7, Staples 3
Ryan 9, Gushue 4
Rowsell 8, Noseworthy 7
Draw 7
Ryan 7, Branton 1
Wensman 9, Rowsell 8
Staples 11, Adam 10
Draw 8
Gushue 9, Adam 1
Ryan 6, Rowsell 3
Skanes 6, Branton 3
Noseworthy 6, Staples 3
TODAY'S SCHEDULE
Draw 9, 9:30 a.m.
Smith vs Gushue
Adam vs Branton
Skanes vs Wensman
Draw 10, 2:30 p.m.
Wensman vs Noseworthy
Ryan vs Skanes
Gushue vs Staples
Rowsell vs Smith
Draw 11, 8 p.m.
Staples vs Ryan
Noseworthy vs Branton
Rowsell vs Adam
Skanes vs Gushue
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