PEI’s 17 and Under curling champions, the Matthew MacLean and Tiffany Sweet rinks from the  Maple Leaf Curling Club in O’Leary, lost their Friday opening games at the Atlantic Under 18 Curling Championships at the Riverside Golf and Curling Club in Rothesay NB.

MacLean, along with third Marshall Smallman, second Kevin Gallant and lead stone Alan MacLean, lost 6-4 to New Brunswick in the afternoon draw. Glen MacLean and Shannon Smallman coach the MacLean rink.

In the evening draw,  the Sweet team, which includes Kathleen O’Meara at third, Chantal Clements at second stone, and lead Laura O’Meara, with coaches Ralph and Clair Sweet, lost 6-5 to Newfoundland and Labrador.  The PEI team led 4-1 after four ends, but a triple in the fifth tied the game for the NL team, who picked up a single in the seventh, and stole another point in the eighth for the win.

At 10 this morning, the  MacLean rink plays Newfoundland and Labrador, while the Sweet team takes on New Brunswick. At 2:30 the PEI women play the host team, while the men face Nova Scotia. The final round robin draw is Sunday at 9, with the finals and consolation finals at 1 pm.