The Mike Gaudet rink scored a triple in end two, deuces in ends four and six, and stole singles in the next two ends to beat the Rod MacDonald rink by a 9-4 score this evening and win the Page 1-2 game at the PEI Tankard provincial men’s curling championship. The Gaudet foursome now advances to the PEI Tankard final, Monday at 6:30 pm at the Cornwall Curling Club. MacDonald, who was undefeated until this game, will now play in the semi-final, Monday at 1:30 pm. Other members of the Gaudet rink are Tyler MacKenzie, Tyler Harris, and Sean Clarey, while MacDonald’s teammates are Kevin Champion, Mark O’Rourke, and Andrew Robinson.
MacDonald’s opponent in the semi will be former Canadian Junior champion Brett Gallant, who eliminated Robert Campbell from the competition in this evening’s Page 3-4 game, scoring a single point with hammer in an extra end, to win by a 6-5 score. Playing with Gallant are defending PEI Tankard champion skip Eddie MacKenzie at third, along with Gallant’s long-time teammates Anson Carmody and Alex MacFadyen, with coach Al Ledgerwood. Completing the Campbell foursome were Philip Gorveatt, Eric Broderson, and Mike Dillon.
The final two qualifiers for the playoff round were selected Sunday afternoon, with Campbell scoring 3 points in an extra end to beat John Likely 10-7, and Gallant, aided by a second end triple, winning 8-6 over Jamie Newson. Rod MacDonald qualified first out of the triple knockout portion of the event on Friday, while Gaudet beat Gallant on Saturday to grab the second spot in the playoffs. All teams playing on Sunday were from the Charlottetown Curling Club. 12 teams were entered in the competition.
The PEI Tankard champion will advance to the Tim Hortons Brier, March 3-11 in Saskatoon.