IQALUIT, Nunavut, November 15 (CCA)….It was a struggle early on, but Manitoba, skipped by Sean Grassie of Winnipeg, won the Canadian Mixed Curling Championship Saturday at Arniatok Arena, 6-4 over Ontario (Wayne Tuck of Brantford).
Despite being out-curled as a team (83%-76%), and at the skip position (82%-69%), Manitoba still prevailed in the final which was a nail-biter from the get-go.
The teams traded deuces in the first two ends, then singles in the next two ends. Ontario, however, was able to steal one in the fifth to go up 4-3 at the break.
But Manitoba, particularly Grassie, who had not curled well in the first half, responded with a single in the sixth to even the score, then stole one in the seventh for a 5-4 lead. Another steal of one in the eighth end put the ‘Bison’ up for good, 6-4.
Ontario blanked the ninth end and needed a deuce in the 10th to send it to an extra, but was run out of rocks.
“I guess the steal in seven shifted the momentum,” said Grassie. “They could have had us on the ropes a little bit. There were a couple of ends where we were scrambling. They had a shot for two (in the seventh), but it may have picked, I’m not sure. Then in the next end, they had another good chance, but we just peeled really well from then on.
“It feels really great to be a Canadian champion. It’s the ultimate, whether it’s a title in men’s, women’s or mixed. Our front end lost the (Mixed) final several years ago so I don’t think they wanted to lose again. So I’m happy for them. This might be our last chance to play together anyway. Our third (Alli Nimik) moved to Calgary last spring and if she stays there, we’ll be looking for a new third.”
Manitoba, which had finished in first place after the round robin, earning a bye to the final, thus completed the 46th edition of the Canadian Mixed, which was being presented by First Air, with an overall record of 11-1.
It was the first Canadian Mixed title for former provincial junior champion Grassie, third Alli Nimik, second Ross Derksen and lead Kendra Green, who represented the Deer Lodge Curling Club. Derksen and Green were runners-up at the 2006 Canadian Mixed in Whitehorse, when playing second and lead, respectively, for skip David Hamblin, losing the final to Ontario’s John Epping.
Derksen is also a former Canadian and world junior champion, having played third for David Hamblin in 2002.
Meanwhile, Ontario had clawed its way to the final, defeating Nova Scotia (Mark Dacey of Halifax), 8-4 in a tiebreaker for third, then knocking off Saskatchewan (Darrell McKee of Saskatoon) Friday night, 6-5 in the semi-final. Tuck’s team of third Kimberly Tuck, second Jake Higgs and lead Sara Jane Gatchell also finished third at the 2002 Canadian Mixed in Halifax.
It was the first time that a Canadian sport championship has been staged in the territory of Nunavut.
It’s the eighth Mixed title for Manitoba, tied with Saskatchewan, since the championship began in 1964 in Toronto but the first win for the province since 1991, when skip Jeff Stoughton won in Thunder Bay. Alberta leads all provinces with nine wins.
Two players from the winning team will now represent Canada at the 2009 World Mixed Doubles Championship, April 17-25, 2009 in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy.
“We haven’t talked about who is going yet,” explained Grassie. “We didn’t want to jinx the team.”