The Shirley Berry rink from the Cornwall and Charlottetown curling clubs are repeat Curl PEI Masters women’s champs, winning their first three games of their best of five championship against the Diane MacKay rink, taking the title with a 9-1 score in this morning’s game at the Cornwall Curling Club. MacKay curls out of the host club, and was runner-up last year as well. Berry said that she tried to keep the game simple, minimizing rocks in play, and it worked out for her. The game was tied 2-all after three ends, but Berry pulled ahead with a stolen deuce in the fourth, and then put the game out of reach for the MacKay squad by stealing four points in the fifth end.
Photo (L-R): Butch McGee (coach), Shirley Berry, Sandy Hope, Shelley Ebbett, Arleen Harris
Other members of the winning Berry rink are third Sandy Hope, second Shelley Ebbett, and lead Arleen Harris, with coaches Butch McGee and Bill Hope. Rounding out the MacKay team are third Valerie MacLean, second Debbie Rhodenhizer, and lead Carlene Peters.
Photo (L-R): Carlene Peters, Debbie Rhodenhizer, Valerie MacLean, Diane MacKay
Both the Berry and MacKay teams have earned the right to compete in the Maritime Masters Championships. Dates and venue for this event have not yet been confirmed. The winning Berry team or the MacKay rink if they don’t 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.
Berry won the first game of the best of five on Saturday morning, pickeing up four points in the seventh end in a 9-5 win, and had two four point ends in the second game, winning by a 12-4 score.
Meanwhile, the Mel Bernard rink, which includes three out of the four team members of last year’s men’s championship team, have won the “A” section of the ten team men’s modified triple knockout, giving them a berth in the championship round on Tuesday. The rink, which includes third Lou Nowlan, second stone Earle Proude, and lead Alan Montgomery, beat their clubmates from the Silver Fox Curling and Yacht Club, the Dale Cannon team (with Blair Jay throwing 4th stones) by a 5-3 score in the “A” final on Sunday morning, coming from behind with a triple in the final end.
Bernard is playing Bill Hope of Charlottetown and Cornwall, while Cannon is facing Clair Sweet of O’Leary’s Maple Leaf club in the B semi-finals, which got underway at 12:30. The winner of these games advance to the B final at 4 pm.
The C semi-final goes Monday at 9 am, with the C final following at 1 pm.
If the Bernard rink wins all three of the modified triple knockout sections, the championship round on Tuesday at 9 am and 1 pm 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.
End by end results from the Provincial Masters will be available at curlatlantic.com/scoreboard/
There is no admission charge to watch the Masters at the Cornwall Curling Club.
Masters curlers are age 60 and over.