The first of four qualifying games for the championship round at the PEI Tankard is now set for 11 am on Friday at the Crapaud Community Curling Club. Friday draws have been advanced to allow the games to be completed in advance of the storm, predicted to begin Friday night. The teams battling for the first qualifying spot, and a coveted place in the Page 1 vs 2 game Saturday afternoon at 4, where the winner advances directly to the final, are skipped by Rod MacDonald and Eddie MacKenzie, both from the Charlottetown Curling Complex.
In this afternoon’s draw, MacKenzie beat clubmate Robert Campbell by a 9-3 score, stealing a triple in the 9th end, while MacDonald came from behind with a triple in the final end to edge another Charlottetown team, skipped by Robert Shaw, by a 6-5 score.
The four teams, all from Charlottetown, with only one loss in the triple knockout, battle this evening at 6:30, with Shaw facing Blair Weeks, and Campbell taking on defending champion Mike Gaudet. The winners play again Friday morning at 11, with the winner of that contest facing the loser of the MacDonald/MacKenzie game in the second qualifying game, Friday at 4 pm.
The losers of this evening’s games will face off Friday at 4 pm, with the winner of that match playing the loser of the second qualifier in the third qualifying game, Saturday at 11 am.
In contention for the fourth and final qualifying spot, and facing elimination with any loss, are Ted MacFadyen, Mel Bernard, Allan Inman, and Jamie Newson. MacFadyen plays Bernard and Inman takes on Newson at 6:30 this evening, with the winners playing again at 4 pm Friday. The winner of that game will then take on the loser of the 11 am Friday game between the winners of tonights Shaw/Weeks and Campbell/Gaudet contests in the fourth qualifier game, set for Saturday at 11 am.
The third and fourth qualifiers square off in the Page 3 vs 4 game Saturday afternoon at 4 with the winner advancing to the final, Sunday at 4, and the loser playing in the semi-final, Sunday at 11 am, against the loser of the Page 1 vs 2 game. The semi-final winner also goes to the final.
The winner of Sunday’s championship game advances to the Tim Hortons Brier, March 2-10 in Edmonton.