Opening day is in the books at the Curl PEI Provincial Under 18 curling championships at the Cornwall Curling Club, and the first men’s and women’s qualifying spots out of the modified triple knockout draw for the Monday championship round have been filled.

Opening Ceremonies Photo by Amy Duncan. Team Tyler Smith is the rightmost team, just to the left of piper Calum Brydon. The Lauren Lenentine rink is in pink.

Tyler Smith and his Crapaud, Montague and Silver Fox rink won the men’s “A” qualifier with an 8-2 victory over the host club’s Donald DeWolfe rink, which gives him a berth in the two game championship round on Monday. Smith, who is playing with just three curlers, as Alex MacFadyen is recovering from an operation, stole three ends in the game, which went seven ends. Smith now advances to the “B” final at 2 pm Saturday, against the winner of a 10 am game between DeWolfe and Cornwall’s Mitchell Schut, who beat his brother Devin 9-2 this evening.

The Lauren Lenentine and Lauren Moerike teams had a very close game, coming down to the last rock, with Lenentine drawing for a single, a 5-4 win, and a ticket to Monday’s championship round. Lenentine stole the first end, and a deuce in second, to led 3-0 after 2. Moerike stole singles in ends 6 and 7 to tied at 4-4, but Lenentine had last end hammer, and drew for the win. Lenentine and Moerike now await the winners of 10 am Saturday games between Alexis Burris from Cornwall and Maria Doyle from the Silver Fox, and between Danielle Collings and her Charlottetown, Montague, and Crapaud rink, and Emma Coffin of Cornwall, in matches at 2 pm Saturday, with the winners of  those games going to the 6 pm “B” finals.

The eventual winners will advance to the Atlantic Under 18 Curling Championships, from March 25-27, 2016 at CFB Halifax.