The Alex MacFadyen rink from the Silver Fox Curling & Yacht Club in Summerside are the first men’s team to qualify for the four (two men’s and two women’s) Canada Games Training Team spots, after going through round robin play with a perfect 5-0 record at the Curl PEI Canada Games Trials being played at the Charlottetown Curling Complex. Other members of the MacFadyen rink are James Dalton, Matthew MacDonald, and Parker MacFadyen, with coach Dave MacFadyen. The second men’s spot will be determined in the 9 am Sunday draw, with 2011 Canada Games competitor Tyler Smith and his Montague team taking on the Leslie Noye rink from Alberton’s Western Community Curling Club in a tiebreaker. Both teams finished round robin play with identical 3-2 records. Noye beat Smith 8-6 in their round robin encounter this evening. The tiebreaker is required because Curl PEI rules state that teams tied for a playoff position shall only be eliminated from the playoffs by playing a tie-breaker game.
MacFadyen beat Cameron Jenkins of Cornwall 11-8, and Devin Schut, also from Cornwall, 12-4 in action today. Smith beat Schut 8-2 in his other game today. Jenkins and another Cornwall team, skipped by Donald DeWolfe, finished play at 2-3, while Schut went 0-5.
On the women’s side, there is one double round robin draw remaining, at 9 am Sunday, but the two Training Teams have already been determined, with Kaleigh MacKay and her Montague/Crapaud team, and Lauren Moerike and her Charlottetown Curling Complex rink currently sitting at 4-1. Meghan Ching of Cornwall is sitting in third place, at 2-3, but cannot tie either of them. The final round robin draw sees Moerike face MacKay, and Ching take on Karlie Lewis of Western (0-5).
In today’s games, Moerike edged Ching 8-7 in an extra end, and beat Lewis 16-5.MacKay blanked Lewis 14-0 and beat Ching 9-6.
Other members of the MacKay team are Danielle Collings, Alyssa Wright, and Kaleigh Peters, with coach A.J. Campbell, while Ashley Gallant, Annika Kelly, Tati Kelly, and coach Kevin Moerike round out the Moerike squad.
The four Training Teams will compete in men’s and women’s best of three game series in November, with the men’s and women’s winners being named the 2015 PEI Canada Games Curling Teams (Team PEI).
The 2015 Canada Winter Games are being held in Prince George BC from February 13—March 1, 2015. The men’s curling event will take place during Week 1 (Feb. 13-21) and the women’s event will take place Week 2 (Feb. 21-Mar. 1).