PEI’s Brett Gallant rink and Moncton’s Ashley Howard foursome are the winners of this year’s Oak Island Junior Cashspiel, which wrapped up Sunday in Chester Nova Scotia.
Photo (L-R): Brett Gallant, Adam Casey, Anson Carmody, Jamie Danbrook, Peter Gallant
Gallant and his team of Adam Casey, Anson Carmody, and Jamie Danbrook, with coach Peter Gallant (Brett’s father) went undefeated in the event, pounding the Kendall Thompson foursome of Halifax 9-2 in the final, scoring a deuce in the first end, a triple in the second when Thompson was heavy on his draw against the three counters, and a four-pointer in the third end in a game that was conceded after five ends. Thompson, with teammates Adam Berry, Mitch Cahill and Stuart Thompson, with coach Mary Matatall, was previously undefeated in the tournament, but struggled in the final. Gallant’s semi-final against Scott Henderson of St. John’s NL wasn’t close either, conceded after 7 ends with an 8-1 score. Thompson beat Paul Dexter of Antigonish, with Gallant’s former teammate Alex MacFadyen at second, by a 7-4 score in his semi-final game.
For Ashley Howard of Moncton, it’s her third consecutive win in this event, this time edging Marie Christianson of CFB Halifax in a low-scoring 4-3 final. Howard drew first blood with a deuce in the third end. Christianson picked up a single in the fourth, bumping back a Howard rock buried on the button. Howard was forced to take a single point in the seventh, when her attempted blank did not roll out. In the 8th, Christianson drew down to two Howard rocks for a single point. She stole a point in the ninth, but Howard, daughter of Olympic and two-time world champion Russ, hit and stayed against three counters in the final end for the win.
Other members of the Howard foursome are Jillian Babin, Melissa Menzies, and Emily MacRae, with coach Michael Babin. Rounding out the Christianson squad are Tanya Hilliard, Jane Snyder, and Katlin Fralic, with coach Danny Christianson. In semi-final play, Christianson beat Danielle Parsons of Halifax 8-6, while Howard defeated Marlee Powers of Bridgewater 7-3.
The other PEI teams in the 10 team junior women’s section, Erin Carmody and Sarah Fullerton, did not advance to the money round, with Carmody finishing round robin play at 2-2, while Fullerton ended play with one win and three losses. Sam Ramsay of Summerside did not manage to pick up a win in the 15 team junior men’s round robin, while his former teammate Neil Gallant, skipping a Truro team, finished with one win against three losses. Defending junior men`s champion Glen Muirhead of Scotland ended play at 2-2.
Many of the teams from this event will be on PEI for one or both of the next two weekends, with the Fall Fling Junior Cashspiel taking place at the Silver Fox from Nov. 14-16, and the Pizza Delight/Subway/Howard Johnson Dutch Inn Junior Cashspiel being held at the Cornwall Curling Club from Nov. 21-23.
Results from each of the PEI events will be available at PEICurling.com and at the respective club websites.