The PEI teams hit the ice in Liverpool NS this afternoon at the M&M Meat Shops Canadian Juniors, but didn’t come out on the winning side. The Manitoba women, skipped by Meaghan Brezden, stole four in the first end against Veronica Smith and her Cornwall rink, and then stole 1, 4 and 2 in the third through 5th ends to lead 11-0 at the half. The teams traded deuces in ends six and seven, and Smith picked up another deuce in eight, but it was handshake time, with a 13-4 final score.
The PEI men, captained by Kyle Holland from the Charlottetown Curling Complex, picked up a triple in the second end for a 3-1 lead, but their opposition, the Rene Comeau rink from New Brunswick, responded with five points in the third, and stole a deuce in the fourth end to lead 8-3. Holland recorded a single in five, but a triple and a single in the next two ends gave the New Brunswick team a 12-4 lead. Holland narrowed the gap with a deuce in the 8th, and stole a single in the 9th, but ran out of rocks in the 10th. Final score: 12-7.
Earlier, Comeau, from the Capital Winter Club in Fredericton, upset local favourite Robert Mayhew and his Nova Scotia foursome in an entertaining game. Mayhew posted a four-ender in the sixth, posting a seemingly comfortable 6-3 lead playing the 7th. However, the resilient Comeau grabbed two points in the seventh, then stole a single in the eighth. In the ninth end, Comeau coolly drew in for second shot facing seven Nova Scotia counters and, when Mayhew missed his draw for two, the New Brunswick skip was one down with the hammer in the final end. A missed double takeout attempt by Nova Scotia allowed Comeau a simple hit and stay for the 8-7 win.
The PEI men have the evening off, but the women face Ontario’s Molly Greenwood team, who scored a deuce in the last end to edge New Brunswick’s Jessica Daigle rink 12-11 in a scoreboard-filling game this morning, at 7:30 pm.
(with info from the CCA)