Play gets underway Friday morning in the triple-knockout Pepsi Provincial Junior Curling Championships, for curlers age 20 and under, at the Maple Leaf Curling Club in O’Leary, with seven junior men’s teams, and six junior women’s rinks taking part. Defending junior men’s champ Brett Gallant will be looking for his fifth consecutive title, and his sixth overall. Gallant, who also won the Canadian championship and the world silver medal last season, is back with long-time teammates Adam Casey, Anson Carmody, and Alex MacFadyen. Other contenders include host club favourites Parker Clements, and Matthew MacLean, winner of the 15 and Under championships last year, and a participant in the recent PEI Canada Games Trials. Also in the running are Shawn and Spencer Pitre, from the Alberton area, with Spencer skipping a team out of the Charlottetown Curling Club, and Shawn skipping a team from the Western Community club. Summerside’s Sam Ramsay, last year’s runner-up, is back with a combined Charlottetown/Silver Fox team. Cody Dixon from Montague rounds out the junior men’s field.
There will be a new junior women’s champion this year, as defending champion Erin Carmody has graduated from the Junior ranks. Last year’s runner-up, Anita Casey, is back, with a new team out of the Charlottetown Curling Club, including former New Brunswicker Abby Burgess at third, Hillary Thompson of Charlottetown at second, and Jessica van Ouwerkerk, who was formerly with the Carmody rink, at lead stone. Cornwall’s Sarah Fullerton rink, three time 17 and Under champs, are entered, along with last year’s PEI women’s representatives at the CIS/CCA university championships, the Sarah Clow rink, also from Cornwall. The Tricia Sanderson rink rounds out the Cornwall entries. The host Maple Leaf club has two teams entered on the Junior Women’s side, including the Amanda MacLean rink, PEI’s 2011 Canada Games women’s curling representives, along with the Tiffany Sweet team.
End-by-end results will be available at peicurling.com/juniors
Draws go Friday at 10 am and 1, 4:30, and 8 pm, Saturday at 9:30 am and 1, 4:30, and 8 pm, Sunday at 10 am and 1 and 6 pm, Monday at 1 and 6 pm, and Tuesday at 3 pm. If the same team sweeps all three sections of the triple-knockout draw, they would win the championship, and the two championship round draws in their section would not be needed.
The winning junior men’s and women’s rinks will advance to the M&M Meat Shops Canadian Junior Championships, January 16-24 in Sorel-Tracy Quebec.
Team Rosters (skip to lead, coach-team)
Junior Men:
Brett Gallant, Adam Casey, Anson Carmody, Alex MacFadyen, Kathie Gallant (coach), Peter Gallant (coach)- Charlottetown
Shawn Pitre, Daniel McCarthy, Jeff Duggan, Colton Griffin, Roger Gavin (coach)- Western
Spencer Pitre, Billie Lewis, Connor MacPhee, Sean Noonan, Jean Sinclair (coach)- Charlottetown
Parker Clements, Mitch Rowley, Brandon Clements, Mark Cousins, Keith Rowley (coach),
Reggie Clements (coach)- Maple Leaf
Sam Ramsay, Justin Richard, Eric Pidgeon, Corey Miller, Peter Pidgeon (coach)- Ch’town, Sil. Fox
Matthew MacLean, Marshall Smallman, Kevin Gallant, Alan MacLean, Glen MacLean (coach), Shannon Smallman (coach)-Maple Leaf
Cody Dixon, Adam Nabuurs, Bennett Crane, Joey Collier, Brent MacDonald (coach)-Montague
Junior Women
Anita Casey, Abby Burgess, Hillary Thompson, Jessica van Ouwerkerk, Jeff Wilson (coach)- Charlottetown
Sarah Clow, Brielle Quilty, Christina Hennessey, Monica LeBlanc, Angela Hodgson (coach)-Cornwall
Sarah Fullerton, Michelle McQuaid, Sara MacRae, Whitney Young, Brenda MacMillan (coach)-Cornwall
Tiffany Sweet, Chantal Clements, Kathleen O’Meara, Laura O’Meara, Clair Sweet (coach), Ralph Sweet (coach)-Maple Leaf
Amanda MacLean, Kassinda Bulger, Emily Gray, Aleya Quilty, Glen MacLean (coach), Shelley Gray (coach)- Maple Leaf
Tricia Sanderson, Amanda Holm, Krystal Petersen, Victoria Evans, Pat Quilty (coach)-Cornwall
Opening Triple-Knockout Draws:
Junior Women
Friday December 18th at 10 AM: Sarah Fullerton (Cornwall) vs Sarah Clow (Cornwall), Tricia Sanderson (Cornwall) vs Tiffany Sweet (Maple Leaf)
Friday December 18th at 4: 30 pm: Amanda MacLean (Maple Leaf) vs winner Sanderson/Sweet game, Anita Casey (Charlottetown) vs winner Fullerton/Clow game.
Junior Men
Friday December 18th at 1 pm: Matthew MacLean (Maple Leaf) vs Shawn Pitre (Western), Parker Clements (Maple Leaf) vs Brett Gallant (Charlottetown), Spencer Pitre (Charlottetown) vs Sam Ramsay (Charlottetown/Silver Fox)
Friday December 18th at 8 pm: Cody Dixon (Montague) vs winner MacLean/Shawn Pitre