(by Mitch MacDonald)

Skip Eddie MacKenzie and his Charlottetown Curling Club team know the coming week will be a whirlwind affair.  They also hope it will be one of the most enjoyable and successful periods of their lives.

The rink, which also includes third stone Mike Gaudet, second Mike Dillon and lead Alex MacFayden, stepped on a plane Thursday on their way to represent P.E.I. at the 2011 Tim Hortons Brier in London, Ont. from March 5-13. Fifth Jamie Newson and coach Blair Weeks are also traveling with the team for the next 10 days.

Although the team has been preparing for the tournament all year, it will go by in a flash, said Dillon.

“As soon as you step off that plane, it goes quick,” he said speaking from experience, after having already competed in three Briers.

“The practice time you get on the ice right before the tournament starts . . . that’s probably the quickest hour in your life,” he added.

While this is the first year the rink has curled together, and MacKenzie’s first time skipping a national team, there’s no argument the members’ combined years of experience make up for it.

All team members have thrown rocks in national tournaments, including MacFayden, who is only 21.

When the team sealed their Brier position by winning the Labatt Tankard provincial men’s curling championship at the Silver Fox Curling and Yacht Club in Summerside on Feb. 8, it was MacFadyen’s seventh consecutive year winning a provincial title. He’s previously won six junior titles, including one in Nova Scotia.

Dillon has curled in three Briers, competing in 2003, 2005 and 2006. 

Gaudet has skipped twice at the Brier, in 1994 and 2004. MacKenzie was also at the 1994 Brier, where he played third stone for Gaudet.

The winning combination between MacKenzie and Gaudet is no secret to the rest of the team.

“They have a good working relationship,” said Dillon. “I think they’re the future of the Island scene.”

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