Two men’s and one women’s draw are in the books after opening day at the PEI Masters Curling Championships, for curlers age 60 and over, being played at the Cornwall Curling Club. Both the defending men’s rink, skipped by Mel Bernard of the Silver Fox Curling & Yacht Club in Summerside, and last year’s winning women’s team, the combined Cornwall/Silver Fox foursome captained by Shirley Berry, won their openers. with Bernard stealing four points in the fourth end on the way to a 7-2 in over Cornwall’s Bob MacWilliams team, and Berry coming back in fine style from a 4-0 deficit after two ends to Sherren MacKinnon and her Montague rink, taking a deuce in the third end, stealing four in the fourth, and grabbing another deuce in end five to move into an 8-4 lead after five ends. The teams traded singles in the next two ends, with Berry running her former teammate out of rocks in the eighth for a 9-5 final score.

Photo (L-R): Edgar Coffin, Paul Arsenault, Kimball Blanchard

Also unbeaten, with 2-0 records, on the men’s side are Paul Arsenault of Cornwall, and Des Arsenault and Bob Maynard, both from the Silver Fox.  Paul Arsenault recorded wins over André Gauthier of Charlottetown and Fred Fall of Crapaud, while Des Arsenault beat Louis Walsh of Summerside and Clair Sweet of O’Leary’s Maple Leaf club. Maynard stole a point in the last end to edge Bill Hope and his combined Cornwall/Silver Fox rink 7-6 in his only game of the day. The record for the shortest match on opening day went to the Hope foursome in the afternoon draw, who picked up five points in the first end, a single in the third and a stolen deuce in the fourth to lead 8-1 at the half, and bring the game to an early conclusion.

Bernard will face Paul Arsenault, with Des Arsenault taking on Maynard at noon on Tuesday, with the winners advancing to the first of four qualifying matches for the championship round. This game, the A qualifier in the triple knockout event, goes Wednesday at three pm.

In the women’s round robin, Berry, along with Cornwall’s Diane MacKay, and Marg Nowlan from the Fox, are all 1-0 after the noon Monday opening women’s draw. Nowlan beat Cornwall’s Carol Sweetapple foursome 7-2, while MacKay edged Ruth Stavert and her Cornwall rink 8-7.

There are two women’s rounds on Tuesday, with Nowlan playing MacKay, Sweetapple taking on Berry, and Stavert facing MacKinnon at 9 am. The 3 pm matchups see Stavert play Berry, Nowlan take on MacKinnon, and Sweetapple face MacKay.

Draws continue at 9 am, 12 noon and 3 pm through Thursday, with the Men’s and Women’s semi-finals Friday at 9, and the finals at noon.

Live results are available at PEICurling.com/masters

Winners and runners-up earn the right to compete in the Maritime Masters Championships, March 7-10 at the Capital Winter Club, in Fredericton NB.. The winning teams, or the highest-finishing men’s and women’s rinks that choose to attend, are invited to participate in the Canadian Masters, April 8-14 at the Port Arthur Curling Club in Thunder Bay Ontario.