Four of the eight qualifiers for the championship round have now been selected in the triple knockout Open division at the Canadian Stick Curling Championship at the Cornwall Curling Club. This afternoon, the duo of Earl Stephenson and Warren Johnson from the St. Vital Curling Club in Winnipeg beat the host club’s Roddie MacLean/Paul Field duo by a 4-2 score to grab qualifier #3, and the Ted Lohnes/Dave MacDougall team from Truro and Yarmouth edged the Tom and Rae Campbell twosome from Winnipeg 5-4 to take Qualifier #4.
The teams are now set for the final four qualifiers. Cornwall’s MacLean/Field will take on Jim Nicholson and Brian Hallett from Fredericton NB for Qualifier #5, Harold Cook and Marcel Le Mire from Winnipeg play fellow Winnipegers Ernie Oliver and Chris Sobkowich for Qualifier #6, Tom and Rae Campbell from Winnipeg face Keith Bennett and Carl Duggan from the Lakeshore Curling Club in Lower Sackville NS for Qualifier #7, and Jack Prokopepz and Brad Moreau from Enderby BC take on Cornwall’s Ernie Stavert/Sterling Stratton for the final spot.
On Tuesday, the Floyd Stewart/Gordon MacDonald duo from the Montague Curling Club edged the MacLean/Field team 7-6 to grab the first qualifying spot, and the the Carson and Miranne Shultz rink from Didsbury Alta. beat the Tom and Rae Campbell twosome from Winnipeg to take Qualifier #2. (corrects erroneous linescore from yesterday, which had Campbell winning the qualifier)
The final four qualifiers will be chosen in the 8 am Thursday draw, with the quarter-finals following at 10:30. The semis go at 11:30 am Thurday, with the winners advancing to the final, and the losers playing in the Bronze medal game at the same time. There is also a consolation round for the losers of qualifying games 5 through 8.
Photo: Women’s semi-finalist Shirley Lank
The Women’s division finalists have now been determined, with the host club’s Shirley Lank/Mary Plamondon duo and the Linda Murray/Irene King team from Fredericton NB earning byes to the 1:15 pm Thursday semi-finals by virtue of their first-place finishes in their round robin pools, with 3-1 and 4-0 records respectively.
The second and third place teams from the opposite pools then squared off, with Jean Marie Denning and Alye Lou McCarthy from Fredericton scoring 4 points in an extra end to beat Diane Mallison and Patricia Moulaison from Yarmouth 10-6, and Cornwall’s Ruth Stavert/Eileen Blanchard duo beating clubmates Jean Anderson and Marg Stewart 6-4 to advance to the semis. The semi-final matchups see Denning/McCarthy take on Lank/Plamondon, and Murray/King taking on Stavert/Blanchard, with the winners advancing to the final.
The Open Divison and women’s finals, as well as the Open Division bronze medal game and Consolation final all go Thursday afternoon at 3:15.