Round robin play wrapped up on Thursday afternoon at the 53rd Canadian Firefighters Curling Championship in Truro, with the Northern and Southern Ontario rinks finishing atop the standings with 8-2 win-loss records, and advancing to the Page 1 vs 2 game at 1 pm on Friday. Alberta and Manitoba finished next at 7-3 and will play in the Page 3 vs 4 match at the same time.

Saskatchewan finished just out of the playoffs, with a 5-5 record. The PEI rink from the Summerside Fire Department, skipped by Gordon MacFadyen, lost both their games on Thursday, 9-4 to Northern Ontario, and 7-1 to Manitoba, and ended play at 4-6, along with New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Quebec. BC finished at 3-7, while the Northwest Territories were at 1-9. Other members of the MacFadyen team are Leo Stewart, Dwayne MacNeil, and Jim Arsenault.

The winner of the Page 1 vs 2 will advance directly to the 1 pm Saturday ,while the loser will take on the winner of the 3 vs 4 in the semi-final, Saturday at 9 am, with the winner of the semi advancing to the final.

Eleven teams, from all provinces except Newfoundland and Labrador, with separate rinks from Northern and Southern Ontario, and a team from the Northwest Territories are taking part in this event. Next year’s championship will take place in Saint John NB.