(by Tim Gall, special to the Guardian)
Smith rinks fail to secure playoff berths at nationals
For two Prince Edward Island teams, and 10 others across the country, the spotlight still shines but the dream is done.
Two rinks from the Cornwall Curling Club – representing the island at the M&M Meat Shops Canadian Junior Curling Championships in Fort McMurray, Alberta – still have games to play under the glare of the national spotlight, but those contests won’t mean much until next year.
That’s the situation after the local teams lost their games Tuesday – eliminating them from the championship bracket that leads to playoffs on the weekend. However, they are not eliminated from the competition, which is using a new format this year where those not contending for the playoffs continue to play for national seeding points.
P.E.I. third Alex Sutherland prepares to throw a stone during the M&M Meat Shops Canadian junior curling championships in Fort McMurray, Alta.
On the junior men’s side of the tournament, the team of Tyler Smith, Alex Sutherland, Alex Jenkins, and Jonathan Schut finished the preliminary round with a 2-4 record. In junior women’s action, the rink of Veronica Smith, Katie Fullerton, Sabrina Smith, and Chloe McCloskey finished at 1-5. Tyler and Veronica are not related.
While dreams of a championship, or even participating in the playoff round, have been dashed, it doesn’t mean the teams will stop competing. Far from it.
“Sadly, with our record we did not make top four in our pool, meaning we now play crossovers for seeding next year,” said Sutherland, the vice of the junior men’s squad, following an 8-4 loss to Alberta. “We believe that we can win at least two, if not all three games we have to play.”