The Bill Hope rink from the Cornwall Curling Club captured the first of three modified triple-knockout sections in the four-team men’s division of the PEI Masters Curling Championships this afternoon at the Charlottetown Curling Complex with a 7-4 win over defending champion Ted MacFadyen and his team from the Silver Fox in Summerside. MacFadyen led 3-2 at the 4th end break, and the teams exchanged singles in ends five and six, but Hope, and his team of  Craig Mackie, David Murphy, and Peter Murdoch scored four points in the seventh end, and ran the defending champs out of rocks in the eighth. Lou Nowlan is throwing final stones for the MacFadyen rink, but MacFadyen is calling the game. 

Photo: David Murphy (left) and Peter Murdoch prepare to sweep a Bill Hope stone

Hope advanced to the “A” final with an 8-6 win over Cornwall clubmate Paul Arsenault in the morning draw. Arsenault had a 2-1 lead after two ends, but gave up three in the third when, facing four Hope counters, he called for sweeping on his final stone, and the rock fell to the left, hitting the rock but rolling out of play.

Photo: Edgar Coffin (left) and Allan Acorn sweep Paul Arsenault’s rock

Arsenault picked up a single in the 4th, but Hope scored 4 points in the fifth for an 8-3 lead. Arsenault came back with a deuce in six and stole a single in the seventh, but ran out of rocks in the 8th.

Photo: Ted MacFadyen watches as his front end guides a Lou Nowlan rock into the house, while members of the Clair Sweet team look on

The other game in the morning draw wasn’t as close, with MacFadyen leading Clair Sweet and his team from the Maple Leaf Curling Club in O’Leary 6-2 at the four end break, following a triple in the third end, and a stolen single in the 4th. MacFadyen stole another single in the fifth and a deuce in the sixth to bring the game to an early end, with a 9-2 score. Mike Trudeau, second on the Sweet team was unable to curl in this event due to an injury, so Alternate Dario Zannier from Crapaud is replacing him.

Winning the “A” final gives Hope a spot in the two-game championship round on Monday. In the “modified” triple knockout format, section winners also drop down to compete in the next section.

Hope now plays Sweet, with Arsenault facing MacFadyen in “B” section play Saturday morning at 10, with the winners squaring off in the “B” section final at 2 pm. The “C” event goes on Sunday. If the Hope rink were to win all three sections, the Monday championship round between the section winners, which is scheduled for 10 and 2, would not be needed. If a team were to win two sections, a win in the first championship game would give them the title.

The Best of 5 women’s event, featuring the defending champion Sandy Hope team and the Shirley Berry squad, both from Cornwall, starts on Saturday at 2 pm, with Games 2 and 3 on Sunday at 10 and 2. Games 4 and 5, if needed, are scheduled for Monday at 10 and 2.

Winners and runners-up earn the right to advance to the Maritime Masters Curling Championships, at the Bluenose Curling Club in New Glasgow Nova Scotia, March 16-18 2018.  The winning Men’s and Women’s team, or the runners-up should they choose not to attend, also earn the right to compete in the 2018 Canadian Masters Curling Championships in BC, April 1-8 at Surrey’s Cloverdale Curling Club and White Rock’s Peace Arch Curling Club.

Live end-by-end results from the PEI Masters are available at PEICurling.com