The Kyle Holland rink from the Charlottetown Curling Complex beat defending champion Tyler Smith and his Montague Curling Club team by an 8-5 score Monday evening to win the Pepsi Provincial Junior Men’s Championship at the Silver Fox Curling and Yacht Club in Summerside. Team Holland includes Tony Nabuurs, who throws final stones, with Holland throwing third stones and calling the game, along with second Alex Sutherland, who was also on last year's winning team, and lead Taylor McInnis. The team is coached by Angela Hodgson. Holland and McInnis were on last year’s runner-up rink, skipped by Chris Gallant, who is curling and attending school in Winnipeg this year.

(L-R): Kyle Holland, Tony Nabuurs, Alex Sutherland, Taylor McInnis, coach Angela Hodgson

In tonight’s game, the Charlottetown team blanked the first two ends, took a triple in the third, and stole a deuce in the fourth end to take a 5-0 lead. Smith came back with a triple in five, which was followed by a Holland deuce and steal of 1.

(L-R): Tyler Smith, Brooks Roche, Dylan Lowery, Ryan Lowery, coach Tammy Dewar

Smith took the next two ends to trail 8-5 coming home without hammer. In the final end, the Smith rink were lying three, when Tony Nabuurs made a double take out to seal the victory.. Other members of the runner-up Smith foursome are third Brooks Roche, second Dylan Lowery, and first stone Ryan Lowery, with coaches Tammy Dewar and Kevin Smith.

Meanwhile, it’ll be a return trip to the nationals for the Veronica Smith foursome, who beat their Cornwall clubmates the Amanda MacLean team by a 6-4 score in tonight’s Pepsi Provincial Junior Women’s final. The Smith team took singles in the first two ends. MacLean blanked the next two, and was kept to a single in the fifth. Smith took 1 in the sixth, and the teams then traded deuces and then singles to bring the final score to 6-4 for Smith, whose team is unchanged from last year, and includes third stone Chloe McCloskey, second Sabrina Smith, and first stone Katie Fullerton.

(L-R): Veronica Smith, Chloe McCloskey, Sabrina Smith, Katie Fullerton, coach Bill Hope

Smith was facing three in the last end, but made a draw to the four foot for the win. The Smith team is coached by Bill Hope and Paul Smith.

(L-R) Amanda MacLean, Jane DiCarlo, Emily Gray, Aleya Quilty, coach Lori Robinson

Playing with runner-up MacLean were third Jane DiCarlo, second Emily Gray, and lead Aleya Quilty, with coach Lori Robinson.

The Kyle Holland and Veronica Smith teams will advance to the M&M Meat Shops Canadian Juniors, January 18-26, 2014 in Liverpool NS. Holland and Smith are also skipping UPEI teams in the Atlantic University Curling Championships, January 3-5 at the Capital Winter Club in Fredericton, NB. In that event, Veronica Smith will be joined with DiCarlo, Gray and Quilty from the Amanda MacLean rink, while Holland’s team will include McInnis at lead, along with Connor MacPhee and Andrew Cameron.

Veronica Smith punched her ticket to tonight’s championship game on Sunday morning by handing MacLean her first loss in the event. As Smith was the only team to go through round robin play undefeated, she sewed up first place and the bye to the final. In the semi-final, the MacLean foursome edged their Cornwall clubmates, the Emily Keen team, 7-6 in an extra end to advance to the 7 pm final.

Holland captured the A event of the triple knockout portion of the junior men’s championship, and then won the Page A vs B game on Sunday night by an 8-0 score over Cornwall’s Matthew MacLean team to advance directly to tonight’s championship game, while Smith, who took the fourth and final qualifying spot for the Page round, beat Alex MacFadyen of Summerside 7-4 in the Page B vs C game, and MacLean 8-4 in the semi.

Eight junior men’s and seven junior women’s teams took part in this year’s event.

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The Curl PEI Fair Play and Asham Coaching awards were handed out following the Pepsi Juniors finals at the Silver Fox Curling & Yacht Club in Summerside.

The Asham Coaching awards, as voted on by all the coaches at the event, are presented annual to a junior men’s and a junior women’s team coach, based on the following criteria:

- Demonstrating respect for officials, opponents, host committee and curling associations.
- Demonstrating a philosophy of fair play, good sportsmanship and attitudes that reflect the coaching code of ethics.
- Demonstrating concern for all-round development of the athlete and instilling guidelines reflecting responsible conduct beyond the curling rink.
- Presenting, through example, a positive image of coaching.
- Demonstrating ability to improve the athletic performance of a team or athlete.
- Demonstrating ability to apply athlete development and coaching techniques as outlined in the National Coaching Certification Program.

This year’s awards went to Butch McGee, coach of the Emily Keen women’s rink from Cornwall, and to Tammy Dewar, one of the coaches of the runner-up Tyler Smith men’s rink.

Butch McGee (file photo)

(L-R): Tammy Dewar, Curl PEI representative Rod MacDonald

The Curl PEI Fair Play awards, as voted on by all the teams at the event, are presented annually to a junior men’s and a junior women’s player who demonstrate sportsmanship and fair play both on and off the ice.

The Fair Play women’s award went to Silver Fox skip Jenny McLean, while the men’s award was presented to Brooks Roche, third on the Tyler Smith team from Montague.

(L-R): Brooks Roche, Curl PEI representative Rod MacDonald

(L-R): Curl PEI rep Rod MacDonald, Jenny McLean