The Bill Hope rink from the Cornwall Curling Club, which includes third Craig Mackie, second David Murphy, and lead Peter Murdoch, are the new PEI Senior Men’s (age 50+) champs, unseating the defending champion Philip Gorveatt rink with a 7-4 win this morning at the Crapaud Community Curling Club.
Photo (L-R): Winning Bill Hope rink – David Murphy, Bill Hope, Craig Mackie, Peter Murdoch
The Hope foursome had won two sections of the modified triple knockout draw, giving them a “double life” in the two-game championship draw, but they won the first one, and the sudden-death game was not required. In the final, a fourth end triple, followed by stolen deuce in the fifth gave them a 6-3 lead. The teams then traded singles, and Gorveatt ran out of rocks in the last end.
Photo (L-R): Finalist Philip Gorveatt rink — Mark Victor, Mike Dillon, Kevin Champion, Philip Gorveatt
Rounding out the Gorveatt finalist rink are third Kevin Champion, second stone Mike Dillon, and lead Mark Victor. The Hope team, who also made it to the finals in the Master’s (age 60+) championships this year, had a 5-1 win-loss record in this event, losing only to Gorveatt.
On Sunday the Shirley Berry rink from the Cornwall Curling Club went undefeated with a 5-0 win-loss record, sweeping all three modified triple knockout sections in the five-team Senior Women’s event, making a championship round unnecessary.
Photo (L-R): Kevin Smith from the host Crapaud club, Shirley Berry, Janice Murdoch, Arleen Harris, Kim Nicholson
The Berry team, which includes skip Shirley Berry, third stone Janice Murdoch, second Arleen Harris, and lead Kim Nicholson, won the “A” section final 8-7 in an extra end over the Sharon Horne rink from the Western Community Curling Club in Alberton, coming from behind to take a triple in the eighth end and steal a single in the extra. They then took on Cornwall clubmate Debbie Rhodenhizer and her rink, winning 7-5, and captured their third section with a 10-8 victory over defending champion Shelly Ebbett and her Charlottetown team, stealing a deuce in the final end for the win.
The Horne rink, who won the “A” final, were the women’s event runners-up.
The Shirley Berry and Bill Hope teams now advance to the 2018 Everest Canadian Senior Men’s and Women’s Curling Championship, March 24 to 29 at the Stratford Ontario Rotary Complex.