The Curl PEI Provincial Masters Curling Championships, for curlers age 60 and over, got underway Friday with two men’s draws. Four out of the ten men’s teams are still unbeaten after opening day action – one from the host Cornwall Curling Club, one from the Maple Leaf club in O’Leary, and two from the Silver Fox Curling and Yacht Club in Summerside. Play continues on Saturday with draws at 9 am, and 12:30 and 4 pm. All games are eight ends in this event.
On Friday, Cornwall’s Ray Biagé foursome edged Charlottetown’s Matt Smith rink 7-6 in their opener, while O’Leary’s Clair Sweet got off to a fast start with a triple in his first end and a stolen deuce in the second against Cornwall’s Paul Arsenault.. Ends three through six saw each team pick up two pojnts, and a four point seventh end resulted in a 11-2 win for Sweet.
Photo (L-R): Earle Proude, Alan Montgomery, Mel Bernard
The Mel Bernard rink, recent PEI Legion champs, and three-quarters of last year’s Masters championship team (Bernard is replacing last year’s skip, Ted MacFadyen) joined the undefeated ranks by winning his afternoon opener by stealing a deuce in an extra end, against the Bill Hope rink from Charlottetown and Cornwall. Hope beat Cornwall’s Barry Craswell team, who are the only team in the event to have four curlers who use a delivery stick, by a 6-5 score in the morning draw. Craswell, helped out by a 5 point seventh end. rebounded with an exciting 11-10 extra-end win over clubmate Paul Arsenault in the afternoon draw.
The Dale Cannon rink from the Silver Fox remained in the “A” section of the modified triple-knockout draw by winning both their Friday games, doubling clubmate Louis Walsh 6-3 in the morning draw, and beating another Summerside rink, skipped by Bob Maynard, 7-2 in the afternoon.
Cannon now takes on Biagé, with Bernard facing Sweet, in “A” semi-final action Saturday at 12:30, PM, with the winners advancing to the “A” final at 9 AM on Sunday.
Down in the “B” event, Bill Hope takes on Louis Walsh and Bob Maynard plays Barry Craswell at 9 am on Saturday.
Matt Smith from Charlottetown and Paul Arsenault of Cornwall, who both lost their two opening day games, are now in the “must win” C event, and play on Saturday at 4 pm against teams to be determined earlier in the day.
The men’s modified Triple Knockout round continues through Monday, qualifying teams for a two game championship round on Tuesday. If one team wins all three of the modified triple knockout sections, the championship round will not be required. If a team wins two of the three sections, they will have a “double life” in the championship round, winning the event if they take either game, while their opponent would have to win both. If there are three separate winners, the team who played in the most qualifying teams will receive a bye to the second game. If teams are tied in qualifying games played, the team who qualified first gets the bye.
Play in the two team best of five Masters Women’s Championship gets underway on Saturday, with the Cornwall and Charlottetown rink skipped by last year’s winner Shirley Berry facing last year’s runners-up, skipped by Diane MacKay from the host club, playing their first two games in the 9 am and 12:30 PM draws.
The men’s and women’s winners and runners-up (which will include both women’s teams this year) will earn the right to compete in the Maritime Masters Championships. Dates and venue for this event have not yet been announced. The winning teams, or the highest-finishing men’s and women’s rinks that choose to attend, are invited to participate in the 2015 NVA Hotel Divison Canadian Masters Championships, March 30 to Apr. 5 at the Whitehorse Curling Club in the Yukon.
End by end results from the Provincial Masters are available at curlatlantic.com/scoreboard/
Event website is peicurling.com/masters20142015