It’s going to feel like forever since the members of Anthracite Curling Club took the ice at Coal Street Park in Wilkes-Barre.
Tuesday night marks the first set of draws in 14 days as the club went on break while the ice served host to a hockey camp. During that time, ACC held an organizational and administrative meeting (details forthcoming), but everyone must be ready to get back to Summer League action.
This week all but one division leader will be idle, meaning all the teams fighting to get back into their races have a chance to do so.
JEMM (1-2) vs. Team XVI (1-2), Sheet 1, 6 p.m.
JEMM is fighting to get back into the thick of the Stove Division race, trailing Lyons by 3 points in the standings. Two weeks ago the team fell to C&Ds, 10-5.
In the Steamboat Division, Team XVI needs a win to keep itself within 2 points of second place. Whippersnappers and Fifteen have jumped out to undefeated starts and have sizeable edges in those standings.
Two weeks ago, Team XVI fell to Fifteen in a tightly-contested 4-2 draw.
MLC (1-2) vs. Cracked Ice (1-1), Sheet 2, 6 p.m.
MLC has been off for three weeks coming into this draw, and will need a win to keep itself in a four-team race in the Buckwheat Division. In its last draw, MLC lost a close match, 6-5, to Fifteen.
Cracked Ice is coming off its first win of the season two weeks ago when it dropped WINOs, 7-3, in a Chestnut Division matchup. A win this week gets the team within a game of first place.
Stone Cold (1-1-1) vs. WINOs (0-2), Sheet 3, 6 p.m.
Stone Cold can assert itself near the top of the cramped Buckwheat Division standings with a win this week. The team hasn’t been on the ice in three weeks, when it defeated Goody’s, 6-3, in a six-end affair.
WINOs is looking for its first win of the season, and it couldn’t come at a better time. The top two teams in its Chestnut Division are idle. Two weeks ago, the team lost, 7-3, to Cracked Ice.
WINOs vs. Fifteen (3-0), Sheet 1, 8 p.m.
And if it doesn’t work out so well the first time, WINOs has another chance for its first win in a rare double-header.
A win in this draw would really turn heads around the league. Fifteen has sustained two close calls in a row and is the only team to win its first three draws.
Fifteen has won its last two draws by a combined three points.
RAMROD (1-1-1) vs. Team IX (0-3), Sheet 2, 8 p.m.
RAMROD is in a similar situation to Stone Cold, and has an identical record. A win this week would go miles to cementing the team in a summer-long divisional race with the Squirrels, Stone Cold and MLC.
RAMROD also has not taken the ice in three weeks due to a Bye on June 1. In its last match, it forced a tie with Whippersnappers.
Team IX is in need of its first win of the season and can take advantage of an idle division leader. A win this week could turn the season on its heels.
Blind Squirrels (2-0-1) vs. Schoolhouse Rocks! (0-4), Sheet 3, 8 p.m.
The Blind Squirrels return after a two-week break and are the only division leader in action Tuesday night.
In its last draw, the team defeated Boss Hog-Line, 6-3, and will need another strong effort this week to avoid the trap.
The trap is Schoolhouse Rocks!, a team so close in too many of its draws not to have a victory this season.
This team is also five days away from representing the club at the Arena Club Championships this weekend in Woodstock, Vt
The following teams are schedule for a Bye week: C&Ds, Boss Hog-Line, Lyons, Whippersnappers, Goody’s.
