The Clair Sweet rink from the Maple Leaf Curling Club in O’Leary beat the Roddie MacLean foursome from the Cornwall Curling Club twice today to win the men’s section, while Carol Sweetapple beat Cornwall clubmate Diane MacKay in the final to win the women’s division at The Medicine Shoppe PEI Masters Curling Championships, for curlers age 60 and over, at the Crapaud Community Curling Club.
Sweet, with teammates Bob Matheson, Cliff Poirier, and Wayne Arsenault, handed the MacLean rink their first loss of the tournament this morning, with an exciting come-from-behind 8-7 extra-end decision in the “B” final of this double-knockout event. Sweet trailed 7-3 after five ends, but took a single in the sixth, and stole a single, a deuce, to tie the game, and another single in the extra end for the win. The two teams met again in the championship game, with Sweet taking four points in the first end, stealing a pair in the second, taking another four in the sixth, and stealing another four-pointer in the seventh for a 14-4 victory. Both winner Sweet and runner-up MacLean will advance to the Maritime Masters, February 14-17 at the Beaver curling club in Moncton. Sweet can also compete in the Canadian Masters, March 28-April 4 in Saint John. Other members of the MacLean rink are Ron Giggey, Edgar Coffin, and George Younker. Eleven men’s teams took part in the PEI Masters.
In the four team women’s section, Diane MacKay of Cornwall eliminated six-time defending champion Jeanne Duffenais from the Silver Fox in the “B” final this morning, with an 8-4 win, taking a triple in the third, and stealing a deuce and a single in the final two ends. Val MacLean, Eileen Blanchard, and Marilyn Diamond round out the MacKay team.
MacKay then met “A” division winner and clubmate Carol Sweetapple in the final. MacKay grabbed an early lead, stealing a deuce in the first end, and a single in the second. Sweetapple, playing with Marie MacDonald, Danielle Girard, and Karen Fisher, tied the game with a triple in the third, and stole the next two ends for a 5-3 lead. The teams both picked up a deuce and a single over the next four ends, for a final score of 8-6 for Sweetapple. Both rinks will advance to the Maritime Masters, February 14-17 at the Beaver curling club in Moncton, with the winning Sweetapple team also earning the right to compete in the Canadian Masters, March 28-April 4 in Saint John.