The first draw of the Pepsi Provincial Juniors Curling Championship was held tonight at the Silver Fox Curling & Yacht Club, with three Cornwall rinks, skipped by defending champion Veronica Smith, along with Meghan Ching and Amanda MacLean, winning the women’s round robin draws,  and the Matthew MacLean team from Cornwall, along with the Justin Campbell foursome from the the host club winning in the triple-knockout men’s section.

Smith beat clubmate Emily Keen 11-5 in eight ends, while Ching, aided by a five-point third end, defeated Jenny McLean from the Silver Fox 11-7, and Amanda MacLean beat Lauren Moerike and her Charlottetown Curling Complex team 10-4. On the men’s side, Matthew MacLean defeated Leslie Noye from the Western Community Curling Club in Alberton 10-1 in eight ends, and Campbell edged Donald DeWolfe from Cornwall by a 5-4 score.

A moment of silence was held for Kevin Gallant, a former long-time member of the Matthew MacLean rink, who was killed in a snowmobile accident on Wednesday. David O’Connor (father of team member Noah O’Connor), spoke on behalf of the MacLean team, and encouraged everyone to wear orange ribbons, handed out by the MacLean rink, in memory of their former teammate, and asked the curlers on all teams to “curl for Kevin” this weekend.

Play continues on Friday with draws at 1 and 7 pm, with three men’s and three women’s games in each draw. Defending men’s champion Tyler Smith and his new team from Montague play their first game, against Alex MacFadyen’s team from the host club, at 1 pm. The event wraps up on Monday.evening.

Full draw and live, end-by-end results at PEICurling.com/juniors

Note that the draw times on Saturday have been changed from 10 am and 3 pm to 9 am and 6 pm respectively, to allow curlers and families to attend the 2 pm funeral for Kevin Gallant.