Saturday was a busy day at the nine-team PEI Mixed (fours) Curling Championship at the Western Community Curling Club in Alberton, with the “A” section winner decided, and the finalists set for the 10 am Sunday “B” final of the Modified Triple Knockout draw.
File photo: Tyler MacKenzie at last year’s PEI Mixed
The competition will be going into Monday, as there will be separate “A” and “B” winners, meaning no team can capture three sections. The Tyler MacKenzie team from Charlottetown, which includes Aleya Quilty, Doug MacGregor, and Jodi Murphy, and were finalists in last year’s PEI mixed, won the “A” section on Saturday morning, with a 6-1 win over Jamie Newson and his Silver Fox and Charlottetown team, stealing three singles in a row in ends four through six, to bring the “A” final to a speedy conclusion. Newson has a second chance to qualify for the Monday championship round, advancing to the “B” final with a 10-3 victory over the host club’s Daryl MacDonald team on Saturday evening.
MacKenzie did not advance to the “B” final, losing a 5-4 decision to Mitchell Schut from Cornwall in the afternoon draw. MacKenzie was trailing 3-0 after five ends, but picked up 4 in the sixth to take the lead. Schut blanked the seventh and scored a deuce in the final end for the win. Schut advanced to the “B” semi with a 9-6 win over Corey Miller from the Fox in the morning draw.
Schut now plays Newson in the “B” final at 10 am Sunday. The “C” semis go at 2 pm Sunday, with the “C” final at 6.
The winners of the three sections will advance to the championship round on Monday at 10 am and, if needed, 2 pm, with the PEI Mixed Champions then advancing to the Canadian Mixed Curling Championships, November 5-10 2018 at the Fort Rouge Curling Club in Winnipeg.
Live results from the PEI event at PEICurling.com