(by Jean Mills)
The 2014 CIS University Curling Championships continued Friday morning at the Callie Curling Club in Regina, Sask. The eight men’s and women’s teams from universities across the country met for their fifth draw of the championship at 9 a.m. CST.
On the men’s side, the host University of Regina Cougars (1-3) defeated the University of Alberta Golden Bears (2-2) with a low-scoring 3-1 result. The first four ends remained scoreless and the teams alternated only one point each in the fifth and sixth ends. The score remained tied at 1-1 until the ninth end where Regina was able to steal two. Golden Bears skip, Brendan Bottcher, topped off the game making 91 per cent of his shots, and both teams evened out with Alberta throwing 84 per cent and Regina throwing 83 per cent. Both teams now sit at 2-3 records.
The University of Manitoba Bisons (3-1) kept their winning streak alive as they beat the Memorial University of Newfoundland Sea Hawks (3-1) with a 9-4 final score. After five ends, the Bisons had an 8-2 lead over the Sea Hawks. After securing only two more points in the seventh end, the Sea Hawks shook hands after the ninth with a 9-4 deficit. The Bisons shot at a 87 per cent team total, and Memorial Skip Colin Thomas wasn’t able to keep par as he shot 65 per cent to Manitoba skip Matt Dunstone’s 89 per cent.
After a 10-3 loss yesterday, University of Toronto Varsity Blues (1-3) came back in their fifth draw with a 10-6 win over Brock University Badgers (1-3). Going into the fifth end break, both teams were tied at four apiece, but the Blues pulled ahead scoring three in the sixth and two in the seventh. After the ninth end, the Badgers shook hands trailing by four points, 10-6. Both teams were fairly even with Brock shooting at 74 per cent and Toronto at 76 per cent. But Blue’s skip Evan Lilly pushed ahead Badgers skip Scott Brandon shooting 76 per cent and 61 per cent respectively.
The final game on the men’s side saw Saint Mary’s Huskies (1-3) take on undefeated Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks (4-0). After the Huskies fell behind 5-2 at the fifth end break, they were able to tie things up in the sixth. But with a point in the eighth and a steal of two in the ninth, Laurier forced Huskies to shake hands making it an 8-4 win for the Golden Hawks. All members of the Golden Hawks shot over 80 per cent and remain the only undefeated men’s team of the competition.
The women’s side saw the host University of Regina Cougars (1-3) take on the Thompson Rivers University Wolfpack (2-2). Regina went ahead early in the third end with a six-point steal making it 7-2, but Thompson fought back trailing 9-6 in the ninth end and stealing four points in the tenth. Regina skip Lorraine Schneider came up short on her final draw, giving Thompson the steal and a 10-9 victory. Both teams battled with their shooting as Regina only shot 58 per cent and Thompson only 68 per cent, but Wolfpack’s lead Ashley Nordin shot an impressive 95 per cent.
University of New Brunswick Varsity Reds (1-3) went up against undefeated University of Alberta Pandas (4-0). Alberta lead by a small 3-1 margin after the sixth end, and in the ninth UNB was able to tie it up 3-3. But with hammer in the tenth, Alberta scored a single for a 4-3 win. Alberta’s Taylor McDonald (second) and Keely Brown (third) topped the game off with 81 and 80 per cent shooting respectively. Varsity Red’s Darie Tardif (lead) led her team in shooting with 79 per cent.
The women’s side also saw the University of Toronto Varsity Blues (2-2) up against the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks (3-1). After the fourth end, both teams were tied two and remained that way until the seventh end where Toronto came on top 3-2. Laurier rebounded with a four-point end in the eighth and a steal of one in the ninth. In nine ends, Golden Hawks took a 7-3 victory over the Blues. Toronto’s back end struggled with Danielle Bourque (third) shooting 53 per cent and Nicole Seto (skip) shooting 59 per cent against Laurier’s Carly Howard (skip) who shot 71 per cent.
University PEI Panthers (0-4) battled against the Carleton University Ravens (3-1) but came up short in an 8-7 loss. At the fifth end break, PEI trailed 4-2 but came back to steal four points in the sixth. The Ravens fought back and took one in the seventh and stole two in the eighth to lead 7-6. The Panthers tied the game in the ninth end, but it wasn’t enough as Carleton took one in the 10th and the 8-7 victory. Carleton pulled ahead shooting 85 per cent to PEI’s 70 per cent. The Raven’s second Lynn Kreviazuk was the top shooter at 90 per cent.
All 16 teams were again on the ice for the sixth draw of the CIS Curling Championships, with the Wilfrid Laurier men and University of Alberta women still undefeated.
Manitoba Bisons (4-1) handed Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks (5-0) their first loss of the championship. The Bisons started off strong holding a 6-2 lead at the fifth end break. After Manitoba stole one in the sixth, Laurier took one in the seventh, but shook hands after the eighth when the Bisons took an 8-3 lead. Both teams are now tied for first with 5-1 records.
Toronto Varsity Blues and Alberta Golden Bears shared 2-3 records going into the game. The Golden Bears started their afternoon game by stealing one point in both the first and second end and went into the fifth end break with a 5-1 lead over the Blues. Alberta continued to lead throughout the game, forcing Toronto to look for three points to force extra end. Alberta held them to two and took the 7-6 victory.
Memorial Sea Hawks (3-2) battled against the Saint Mary’s Huskies (1-4). Both teams were tied after the fifth end 3-3, with Saint Mary’s pulling ahead with a three-point sixth end. Going into the tenth with a 7-5 deficit and potentially sitting two, the Sea Hawks needed a measurement to see if they would be going into an extra end. The Huskies came out on top to take the game with a 7-6 final score.
The University of Regina Cougars (2-3) rallied against the Brock University Badgers (1-4) but came out short in an extra end. After the sixth end, both teams were tied at 2-2, with Brock pulling ahead with one point in the eighth. Regina battled back in the ninth taking a 4-3 lead. Brock answered with one point in the 10th to take it to the extra. There the Badgers came out on top taking the game with a 5-4 final score.
University of PEI Panthers (0-5) claimed their first win of the championship against the University of New Brunswick Varsity Red (1-4). The Panthers started off strong with four points in the first end, stole two in second and one in the third. At the fifth end break the Varsity Reds trailed 10-1. After eight ends, UNB shook hands and gave PEI their first win, a 12-3 victory.
Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks (4-1) led the Thompson Rivers Wolfpack (3-2) 4-1 at the fifth end break. After two blank ends, Thompson was able to take another point to trail 4-2. After one point for the Golden Hawks in the ninth, the Wolfpack shook hands and gave Laurier a 5-2 victory.
After a tough loss earlier in the day, the Regina Cougars (1-4) came back with an 11-2 win over the Toronto Varsity Blues (2-3). After stealing two in the third end and taking four points in the fifth, Regina led 7-1. Toronto was able to gain one point in the sixth but it wasn’t enough as Regina took two in the seventh and stole another two in the eighth. After eight ends, Laurier shook hands with an 11-2 deficit.
The undefeated Alberta Pandas (5-0) were dealt a tough first loss in a battle against the Carleton Ravens (4-1). The Ravens took an early 7-1 lead going into the fifth end break, but the Pandas came back to tie up the game 7-7 by stealing in the last four ends and taking it into an extra. In the extra end, Carleton came out on top with a hit by skip Jamie Sinclair to sit one and take an 8-7 victory.
The round robin action continues Saturday with all teams back on the ice at 9 a.m. CST and semifinals begin at 7 p.m. CST.
The winning teams will be invited by the Canadian Curling Association to represent Canada at the FISU 2015 Winter Universiade in Granada, Spain, Feb. 4-14.
Draw results will be available at www.curling.ca while event information, including team rosters and draw schedule, can be found at www.curling.ca/2014university-en.
Meanwhile, the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Curling National Championships are taking place at Soo Curlers Association in Sault. Ste. Marie, Ont., from Wednesday through Saturday. Eight women’s and eight men’s teams are competing in the event hosted by Sault College. For further information, visit www.ccaa.ca/national-championship-s15111.