PEICurling.com

The Mel Bernard rink from the Silver Fox Curling and Yacht have advanced to the men’s championship game at the Credit Unions of PEI Provincial Seniors Curling Championships, which wrap up on Monday at the Cornwall Curling Club. Sunday afternoon, Bernard, who won the event in 2007, took the A section final of the double-knockout tournament, doubling Charlottetown’s Peter Gallant 8-4. A seventh-end triple was the main difference in a very close game. Other members of the Bernard rink are Blair Jay, Douglas Simmons and Earle Proude. Playing with Gallant, who is the two-time defending Labatt Tankard Provincial Men’s champion, and is competing in his first Seniors, are Peter MacDonald, Tom Fetterly, and Rod MacDonald.

Bernard was not successful in earning a berth in the B final, losing his Sunday afternoon playoff game 9-5 to Charlottetown’s Ted MacFadyen rink, which includes Craig Mackie at third, Bill Hope at second, filling in for Sandy Foy, who is on the injury list, and Mike Coady in the lead position. MacFadyen, a six-time Senior men’s champ, stole three ends en route to the victory. The other B qualifier was between the Gallant rink, and Charlottetown’s Matt Smith foursome, with Gallant coming out on top by an 8-2 score, following up a third-end deuce with a stolen single, and a sixth end pair with a stolen deuce in the seventh to put the game out of reach. MacFadyen and Gallant square off in the B final, Monday at 10 am, with the winner facing Bernard in the 3 pm final. Fifteen men’s rinks took part in the PEI championship.

Shirley Berry rink advances to Senior Women’s final
Dolan and Moyaert to play off in Semi

Meanwhile, the Shirley Berry rink have earned a berth in the Senior Women’s final, also scheduled for 3 pm Monday. Berry, who is from the host Cornwall Curling Club club, and won the event in 2002 and 2004, edged Charlottetown’s Kim Dolan foursome 6-5 Sunday afternoon in the A vs B Page playoff game to advance directly to the final. Other members of the Berry team are Arleen Harris, Danielle Girard and Carole Sweetapple, with coach Butch McGee. Playing with Dolan, who is competing in her first Seniors, are Karen A. and Karen E. MacDonald, and Yvonne Campbell.

In the final, Berry, who beat Charlottetown’s Sandy Hope 11-2 on Saturday to win the B section of the triple knockout competition which preceeded the Page championship round, will face the winner of the semi-final, scheduled for 10 am Monday, between A section winner Dolan, and June Moyaert of Montague. With the Page playoff system, Dolan, as the loser of the A vs B game, gets a second chance in the semi, while Moyaert got there by winning the Page playoff game between the two C division winning teams, eliminating defending champion Barb Currie of Summerside by a 9-5 score. Dolan advanced to the Page round with a 12-4 win over Sandy Hope in the A section final on Friday, while Moyaert, whose team includes Kathy Clarey, Marj Campbell, and Cheryl Dickie, edged Diane MacKay of Cornwall 8-7 in the C1 final, and Currie beat Hope 8-2 in the C2.

Eight teams took part in the Senior Women’s portion of the event.

Meanwhile, organizers are monitoring the weather conditions in advance of Monday’s 10 am and 3 pm draws, and will make a decision by 7 am if any draw time adjustments are needed.

The winning Senior Men’s and Women’s rinks will advance to the Canadian Seniors, March 21-28 at the Silver Fox.

Six rinks remain in play in the fifteen-team double-knockout men’s division at the Credit Unions of PEI Provincial Seniors Curling Championships. Seniors newcomer Peter Gallant, Labatt Tankard men’s champion the last two years, and 2007 Seniors champion Mel Bernard (he also won asthird for Ted MacFadyen in 2006) remain undefeated, and will face off in the A section final at 11:30 Sunday morning. In Saturday action, Charlottetown’s Gallant beat another Seniors newcomer, Dale Cannon of the Silver Fox, by a 7-4 score to advance to the A final, while Bernard trounced Matt Smith of Charlottetown 13-3 to win the A berth, taking a deuce in the first end, stealing a triple in the second, and grabbing four-enders in ends four and six to seal the win.

Down in the B section, Clair Sweet of the O’Leary Maple Leaf Club edged John Holmes of the Silver Fox 9-8, while defending champion Ted MacFadyen of Charlottetown remained alive, beating Rupert Sweetapple of Cornwall 7-1. MacFadyen and Cannon, and Sweet and Smith play Sunday at 11:30 am, with the winners facing Bernard and Gallant, respectively in the B finals, set for Monday morning at 10. If the A final winner is also the B final winner, they will be declared the champion, without the need for a final game, If there are separate winners, they will playoff in the championship game Monday at 3 pm, with the winner advancing to the Canadian Seniors, March 21-28 in Summerside.

The four championship round teams have been determined in the triple-knockout eight-team women’s division of the Credit Unions of PEI Provincial Senior Curling Championships, which wrap up on Monday at the Cornwall Curling Club.

Kim Dolan of Charlottetown, playing in her first Seniors, grabbed the first championship round slot by winning the A pool on Friday, beating Charlottetown clubmate Sandy Hope 12-4 in the A final. Shirley Berry of the host club took the B position, with an 8-2 win over Hope on Saturday morning, stealing the fifth through seventh ends en route to the victory. The two C slots went to Montague’s June Moyaert rink, who edged Cornwall’s Diane MacKay rink 8-7, and to defending champion Barb Currie of Summerside, who took the last spot in the championship round with a decisive 11-2 win over Hope on Saturday night, stealing a fourth-end four ender, and taking five points in the sixth to bring the game to an early conclusion.

The Page championship round goes like this:

The A and B winners Dolan and Berry face off Sunday afternoon at 4, with the winner advancing directly to the 3 pm Monday final, and the loser playing in the 10 am Monday semi-final.

The two C winners Moyaert and Currie also play Sunday at 4, with the winner advancing to the semi-final. The winner of the semi advances to the final against the winner of the A vs B game, with the winner of the final advancing to the Canadian Seniors, March 21-28 at the Silver Fox Curling and Yacht Club in Summerside.