(Charlottetown Curling Club)-It was an up-and-down day for the home teams in the first draw of the Canada’s Best Cashspiel at the Charlottetown Curling Complex. On the men’s side, Eddie MacKenzie’s team was victorious over Jamie Newson while Rod MacDonald’s team scored a single in an extra end to defeat Wayne Sangster of Nova Scotia. After steals in the 6th and 7th ends to give them a 1 point lead coming home, New Brunswick’s Team Odishaw (with Russ Howard in for regular skip Terry Odishaw) counted 2 points in the 8th to defeat defending PEI tankard champion Mike Gaudet, and Robert Campbell was defeated by New Brunswick’s Marc Lecocq.
On the women’s side, Kim Dolan took advantage of home ice for a lopsided 8-2 victory over Courtney Smith of Nova Scotia, while Suzanne Birt held on to her early lead for an 8-6 win over clubmate Lisa Jackson. In the remaining women’s game, Melissa Adams defeated Mary Jane McGuire in a battle of New Brunswick Teams.
The men’s triple knockout draw continues today and tomorrow. Games between Campbell and Newson, Gaudet and Sangster, MacKenzie and Jason Vaughan, and Odishaw and Mark Kehoe are currently underway. Further men’s draws will take place at 3:00 pm and 9:00 pm today. On the women’s side, round robin draws will take place at noon and 6:00 pm today. In the noon draw, New Brunswick’s Sylvie Robichaud will see her first game of the tournament against McGuire, Kathy O’Rourke opens against Kim Dolan in a battle of Charlottetown clubmates, Lisa Jackson will face Melissa Adams, and Nova Scotia’s Sarah Rhyno will face Courtney Smith. The 6:00 pm draw sees Smith vs. O’Rourke, Rhyno vs. Dolan, McGuire vs. Birt, and Adams Vs. Robichaud.
The four men’s qualifiers for the semifinals will be determined on Saturday at 10:00 am, 4:00 pm, and 7:00 pm, while the women’s round robin also wraps up on Saturday with games at 1:00 pm and 7:00 pm. Semifinals for both men and women will take place on Sunday at 10:00 am, with the finals set for Sunday at 1:00 pm. The complete tournament schedule is available online at http://curlingresults.com/best/. All draws are open to the public, and admission is free.