Three draws are complete following opening day action at the PEI Travelers Curling Club Championships at the Montague Curling Club. All seven men’s teams have played two games each, while the six women’s rinks have each played one, with the Silver Fox and Western Community club champs leading the men’s side at 2-0, and the teams from Crapaud, Montague, and the Silver Fox sporting 1-0 records on the women’s side.
Despite the stormy weather, Saturday games are planned to go ahead, with women’s draws at 9 am and 4 pm, and men’s draws at noon and 8 pm, plus one men’s game (Maple Leaf vs Silver Fox) at 4 pm. Curl PEI’s Rules of Play state that if an event is able to start, and there are local accommodations available, that it will continue as scheduled, provided the necessary personnel (umpire/ice maker) can safely get to the host club.
On the men’s side, the Jamie Newson squad from the Silver Fox in Summerside, along with the Daryl MacDonald foursome from the Western Community Curling Club in Alberton, three of whom are former PEI Travelers champs, are undefeated after Friday play, with 2-0 records. Charlottetown (Paul MacCormack, Crapaud (Alan Inman), and Cornwall (Garth Cudmore) are 1-1, while the host club team, skipped by Larry Richards and the Bob Matheson rink from the Maple Leaf in O’Leary are 0-2.
Newson beat Richards 4-2 in his opener, and kept MacCormack off the scoreboard in all but two ends with a 9-4 win. MacDonald won both his games, over Matheson and Inman, by 7-5 scores.
MacDonald plays Newson at 8 pm on Saturday.
On the women’s side, the Amanda Holm rink from Crapaud won their opener 9-6 over Western Community, skipped by former PEI Travelers champ Sharon Horne, capitalizing on a couple of missed takeouts to grab four points in the first end, and also picked up a triple in the third.
Tammy Dewar and her host club team also won their opening match, 7-5 over Annika Kelly and her team from Charlottetown, with help from a four-point fourth end.
Also undefeated at 1-0 is the Melissa Morrow foursome from the Silver Fox in Summerside, following a 6-4 opening draw win over Cornwall’s Debbie Rhodenhizer team.
Round-robin play continues through Sunday, with the top three teams after any tiebreakers advancing to their respective championship round on Monday and, if needed, Tuesday.
Live results are available at PEICurling.com
The provincial winners will advance to the national Travelers Curling Club Championship, normally held in November. Dates and location have not yet been announced.