The Charlottetown Curling Complex women’s team skipped by Susan Dowling-Shaw got off to a slow start at the PEI Travelers Curling Club Championship at the Western Community Curling Club in Charlottetown, losing their first three games, but rebounded with five consecutive wins, and have now handed the Crapaud Community Curling Club team, skipped by Julie Mutch, their first loss, by a 5-3 score in the first championship game, to force a deciding game at 9 am on Tuesday. Had Mutch, who went through round robin play undefeated, won, she would have taken the championship.

Dowling-Shaw, whose rink includes two members of the 2015 Canadian Travelers Women’s Championship rink- third Melissa Morrow and second Jodi Murphy, along with lead Cassandra McNaughton, stole a deuce in the first end, picked up a single in the third, and stole another deuce to lead 5-0 at the fourth-end break. Mutch, who skips the game, but throws third stones, with Lindsay Moore throwing last, scored triples in the next three ends, to narrow the gap to 2, but ran out of rocks in the final end. Second Terri Wood and lead Heather MacRae round out the Crapaud team.

Winning men’s rink from the Silver Fox (L-R): Fr. Art Pendergast from the host club, Leo Stewart, Barry Cameron, Darrell Thibeau, Cory Montgomery

The Silver Fox Curling and Yacht Community Complex team of Leo Stewart, Barry Cameron, Darrell Thibeau, and Cory Montgomery won the men’s event earlier on Monday, defeating the Charlottetown Curling Complex rink, skipped by Mitch O’Shea, 7-3 in the final.

The Stewart rink and the winning women’s team will advance to the 2018 Travelers Curling Club Championship, to be played Nov. 20-25 2017 at the Cataraqui Golf and Country Club in Kingston Ont.