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Home ice disadvantage

The hometown fans in Halifax haven't had much to cheer about at the 2010 Brier. Ian Fitzner-LeBlanc's Nova Scotia rink opened up with five straight losses, and has posted only two wins through nine matches.

So you can forgive Haligonians for milking one great moment that took place Tuesday against Alberta's Kevin Koe.

Everybody at the Metro Centre is still buzzing about the "fix for six." Nova Scotia scored six -- count 'em six -- in the fifth end of that match.

"It was a very cool experience," Brier rookie Fitzner-LeBlanc said.

"The best part about it was was the fact that we'd been struggling so much in front the crowd. It was nice to give them something to cheer about."

So what's been the trouble for Nova Scotia? Actually it's a real concern for all of the Maritime rinks, and the Territories too.

It's the ice.

IMG_1373.jpgThere's a huge difference between curling on "arena" ice versus "club" ice.

"Visually, to watch, where the rock's breaking point and curling point is -- it's totally different here on [arena] ice," Fitzner-LeBlanc said.

Historically, Atlantic Canada [curling clubs] have really straight ice. But here, we're looking at five and half to six feet of curl. [Compared to] maybe two and half of feet of curl on curling club ice."

His opponents have some sympathy.

"If you look at the top teams, they play on arena ice every weekend," said Koe, who plays on arena ice on a regular basis in the World Curling Tour.

Most of those events are in Western Canada, making it too expensive for most of the Eastern teams to make the commitment.
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