The Bill Hope and Shirley Berry rinks, who both play out of the Charlottetown and the Cornwall curling clubs, won the A finals of the triple knockout Credit Unions of PEI Provincial Seniors Curling Championships tonight, with the men’s event being played at the Maple Leaf Curling Club in O’Leary, and the women’s taking place at the Crapaud Community Curling Club. Winning the A final gives them each a berth in the two game championship round on Monday.
In the eight team men’s section, Hope, and his team of Craig Mackie, John Mullin, and David Murphy beat the Grant Somers rink of Summerside by a 7-3 score this afternoon in the A semi-final, and went on to double the Bob Matheson rink from the host club 6-3 in the A final. Matheson advanced with an 9-5 win over Rod MacDonald, and his defending champion rink (three out of the four players are back, with Tom Fetterly replacing Peter MacDonald, and Rod moving up to skip) from the Charlottetown and Silver Fox clubs in the A semi-final.
Defending women’s champion Shirley Berry and her rink of Sandy Hope, Shelley Ebbett, and Arleen Harris got off to a good start in their afternoon game against June Moyaert and her Montague team, taking five points in the first end, but Moyaert took singles in the next three ends and fought her way back to tie the game in the ninth end. Berry had hammer coming home, and scored a single point for a 10-9 win. In the A final this evening, Berry trailed 6-4 after seven ends, but took a triple in the eighth and stole a single in the ninth to pull ahead and win 8-6 over Karen Anne MacDonald and her Charlottetown Curling Club rink. MacDonald got by Cornwall’s Debbie Rhodenhizer rink by a 10-8 score in the afternoon A semi.
In other men’s games this evening, Dale Cannon beat Silver Fox clubmate Grant Somers 8-2, while Rod MacDonald downed Mel Bernard of Summerside 9-5. Matheson takes on Cannon and Hope plays MacDonald Saturday morning at 11, with the winners advancing to the B section final at 4 pm. Facing elimination with their next loss are four Silver Fox rinks, skipped by John Holmes, Bernard, Barry Cameron and Somers.
In other games this evening in the eight team women’s section, Nola Murphy of Summerside took a triple in an extra end to beat Cornwall’s Rhodenhizer 10-7, and Montague’s Moyaert beat Cornwall’s Currie in a 13-7 shootout. MacDonald and Moyaert, and Berry and Murphy play off at 11 am on Saturday, with the winners advancing to the 4 pm B finals. Sheila Compton of Summerside plays Rhodenhizer and Summerside’s Paula Baglole plays Currie Saturday morning, with the losers knocked out of further competition, and the winners continuing play in the C division.
Sunday draws are also at 11 am and four pm, with the winners of all three sections advancing to the two game championship rounds on Monday at 1 and 6 pm. The men’s and women’s winners will advance to the World Financial Group Canadian Seniors, March 19-26 in Digby NS.