P.E.I. has its own personal mascot

There are only two round robin games left at the Canada  Games in Red Deer Alberta for PEI’s Lauren Ferguson and Mitchell Schut curling teams — against the Northwest Territories at 1 pm today, and at 12 noon on Friday against New Brunswick. The Territories girl’s team have only one win, while the boy’s has none, so the PEI teams are both hoping for wins this afternoon. The Friday games against NB will be available on live stream at https://canadagames.live/curling

In action on Wednesday, the PEI girl’s team, skipped by Lauren Ferguson, split their games, losing 5-1 to Nova Scotia, but taking a triple in the seventh end and stealing a deuce in the eighth to beat Quebec 8-6, and improve their win-loss record to 2-6.

Team PEI photo: Lexie Murray (left) and Alexis Burris

The Team PEI  boy’s team, skipped by Mitchell Schut, were tied 1-1 with Nova Scotia’s Ethan Young rink after four ends in the battle between the seafood provinces (with one of the PEI parents suitably dressed for the occasion), but PEI was in hot water in the second half as the Bluenosers kept PEI off the scoreboard, winning 6-1. It was looking good for a PEI win against Quebec, with the teams tied 4-all after six ends, but Quebec blanked the seventh to have hammer coming home, and picked up a 5-4 win with a last-end single.

(Photo by Doug Kelly)

The annual Labatt Meltdown, sponsored by Labatt, along with Harvey’s Clover Farm and MacDonald’s Excavation will be held at the Crapaud Community Curling Club April 12th – 14th. Entry is $160 per team. Skip and third must be of the opposite gender. Multiple divisions with cash prizes, prizes for best team costume, and 3 games guaranteed.

Entertainment on Friday and Saturday, as well as chili and clam chowder on Friday evening, and mussels and a barbecue on Saturday. Happy hour 7:30 to 9:30 Friday and 2-4 on Saturday. Sunday will start off with Coffee and Muffins, with skating after the last draw.
There will also be trivia (8 pm Saturday), and a draw to the button contest.

All skill levels are welcome!

Register at the Crapaud Community Curling Club, or contact Nick Blanchard at [email protected] or (902) 394-7442.

O’LEARY — The Silver Fox women and the Charlottetown men will represent P.E.I. at the national curling club championships.

Melissa Morrow and her Silver Fox rink of Miranda Ellis, lead; Lindsey Spencer, second and Darcee Birch, mate, avenged their only round robin loss with a 7-0 win over the host Bobbi-Jean Boylan rink from the Maple Leaf Curling Club in the women’s championship final Monday afternoon. Both teams had completed round robin play Sunday with 4-1 records, but Boylan was awarded first place, and a bye to the finals, because of their round robin win against Morrow Sunday morning.

Morrow punched her ticket to the final with a 9-5 semi-final win over Montague’s Tammy Dewar rink Monday morning, capitalizing on a five-point sixth end.

Dennis Watts and his Charlottetown Curling Complex team of Erik Brodersen, Andrew MacDougall and Doug MacGregor are heading to the nationals for the second time in four years following their 7-4 win over the Tim Hockin rink from the Silver Fox. Watts, who scored three in the seventh to break open a 4-4 game, felt his wide in-off for a deuce in the fifth was the turning point in the close game. It came right after Hockin made a brilliant double to roll under cover to sit one.

“It really sparked our team there.”

Despite losing the final, skip Boylan was pleased with how her team performed. It was the first time in the event’s 11-year history that Maple Leaf entered a women’s team. 

Click for the full story in the Journal Pioneer.

A Prairie rivalry will be renewed when the 2019 Tim Hortons Brier, presented by AGI, kicks off Saturday at Westoba Place in Brandon, Man.

The host Manitoba team, skipped by Brandon-born Mike McEwen, will take on Saskatchewan’s Kirk Muyres of Saskatoon in the opening draw Saturday at 2 p.m. (all times Central) of the Canadian Men’s Curling Championship.

Later Saturday, Brad Gushue’s Team Canada squad from St. John’s {which includes PEI’s Brett Gallant] begins its quest for a Tim Hortons Brier three-peat, taking on Brier rookie Scott McDonald of Ontario (Kingston).

With a gold medal in Brandon, Gushue, with the same team that prevailed in 2017 at St. John’s and last year in Regina (vice-skip Mark Nichols, second Brett Gallant, lead Geoff Walker, alternate Tom Sallows, coach Jules Owchar) would join the Randy Ferbey Alberta team (2001, 2002, 2003) as the only teams ever to win three straight Tim Hortons Brier championships

Sixteen teams, representing the 14 Curling Canada member associations, Team Canada and the winner of the Wild Card game on Friday at 7 p.m. (Team Brendan Bottcher of Edmonton vs. Team John Epping of Toronto) have been seeded (by the CTRS standings, as of Dec. 31, 2018) and separated into two pools. The Wild Card Game winner will automatically go in as the No. 3 seed.

They’ll first play a round robin within their pool, after which the top four in each advance to the Championship Pool for four games against teams from the other pool. Upon completion, the top four teams (best overall won-lost records) proceed to the Page Playoffs on Saturday (1 vs. 2, winner to final, loser to semifinal; 3 vs. 4, winner to semifinal, loser eliminated).

The semifinal is Sunday, March 9 at 1 p.m., while the gold-medal game is at 7 p.m.

But before the round-robin games begin on Saturday, the Wild Card game Friday night between Team Bottcher and Team Epping — a rematch of the 2018 Tim Hortons Brier semifinal (won by Team Bottcher) — will get Brier Fever stoked in Brandon. Admission is free, with donations to the Curling Canada Foundation in support of junior curling being accepted at the door.

Gushue will be making his 16th Brier appearance, but won’t be the only skip chasing a spot in the record books in Brandon. Alberta’s Kevin Koe — whom Gushue defeated in the 2017 final — has a chance to win his fourth Tim Hortons Brier title, which would make him just the fourth skip ever to win four Canadian men’s championships; Ferbey, Kevin Martin and Ernie Richardson are the others.

Saturday’s Opening Ceremony (free with a Draw 1 ticket) is at 12:30 p.m.

The winning team will represent Canada at the 2019 Pioneer Hi-Bred World Men’s Curling Championship, presented by Service Experts Heating, Air Conditioning and Plumbing, March 30-April 7 in Lethbridge, Alta. The winner will also defend its title as Team Canada in the 2020 Tim Hortons Brier, presented by AGI, in Kingston, Ont.

Here’s a look at how the two pools in Brandon set up:

(teams listed according to seeding, and listed in order of skip, vice-skip, second, lead, alternate, coach; hometown and CTRS ranking as of Dec. 31)

Pool A

(L-R): John Likely, Anson Carmody, Steve Burgess, Robbie Doherty, Matthew Nabuurs

2. Northern Ontario, Brad Jacobs (Ryan Fry, E.J. Harnden, Ryan Harnden, Lee Toner, Adam Kingsbury; Sault Ste. Marie, 3)
3. Team Wild Card
6. Manitoba, Mike McEwen (Reid Carruthers, Derek Samagalski, Colin Hodgson; Rob Meakin; West St. Paul, 11)
7. Saskatchewan, Kirk Muyres (Kevin Marsh, Daniel Marsh, Dallan Muyres, Lyle Muyres; Saskatoon, 12)
10. Quebec, Martin Crête (Philippe Lemay, Éric Sylvain, Philippe Ménard, Philippe Brassard, Robert Ménard; Saint-Romuald, 58)
11. Newfoundland/Labrador, Andrew Symonds (Chris Ford, Adam Boland, Keith Jewer, Craig Jewer; St. John’s, 141)
14. Prince Edward Island, John Likely (Anson Carmody, Steve Burgess, Robbie Doherty, Matt Nabuurs; Alberton/Charlottetown, NR)
15. Yukon, Jon Solberg (Bob Smallwood, Clinton Abel, Scott Odian; Whitehorse, NR)

Pool B

1. Alberta, Kevin Koe (B.J. Neufeld, Colton Flasch, Ben Hebert, John Dunn; Calgary, 1)
4. Team Canada, Brad Gushue (Mark Nichols, Brett Gallant, Geoff Walker, Tom Sallows, Jules Owchar; St. John’s, 4)
5. Ontario, Scott McDonald (Jonathan Beuk, Wesley Forget, Scott Chadwick, Jeff Grant, Sean Turriff; Kingston, 8)
8. Nova Scotia, Stuart Thompson (Colten Steele, Travis Colter, Taylor Ardiel, Bill MacPhee, Kevin Patterson; Dartmouth, 25)
9. British Columbia, Jim Cotter (Steve Laycock, Tyrel Griffith, Rick Sawatsky, Brad Wood; Vernon, 39)
12. Northwest Territories, Jamie Koe (David Aho, Matthew Ng, Cole Parson; Yellowknife, NR)
13. New Brunswick, Terry Odishaw (Jordan Pinder, Marc Lecoq, Grant Odishaw, Jamie Brannen; Moncton, NR)
16. Nunavut, Dave St. Louis (Peter Mackey, Jeff Nadeau, Lloyd Kendall, Barry Westman; Iqaluit, NR)

CLICK HERE to check the schedule for the 2019 Tim Hortons Brier.

You can purchase tickets at the Westoba Place box office, online at curling.ca/tickets or by phone at 204-726-3555.

TSN/RDS2 will provide complete coverage of every draw at the 2019 Tim Hortons Brier. CLICK HERE for the complete broadcast schedule.

The Tim Hortons Brier has been played in 31 cities across Canada, from Victoria to St. John’s. Manitoba and Alberta are tied for most victories with 27 apiece. New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut have yet to win.

Click to read this story at Curling Canada

(MLCC photo L-R): Dennis Watts, Erik Brodersen, Andrew MacDougall, Doug MacGregor, Miranda Ellis, Lindsey Spencer, Darcee Birch, Melissa Morrow

Men’s

The PEI Curling Club Championships wrapped up Monday afternoon at the Maple Leaf Curling Club in O’Leary with the Dennis Watts team from the Charlottetown Curling Complex going undefeated with a 7-0 win-loss record to win the Men’s championship, breaking open a tied game with a triple in the seventh for a 7-4 win over the Silver Fox men’s rink, skipped by Tim Hockin. Because of his undefeated status, Watts. who went directly to the final because of his first-place finish, would have had to be beaten twice by Hockin, so the Charlottetown win meant that the “second chance” game was not needed. Other members of the winning Charlottetown foursome are third Erik Brodersen, second Andrew MacDougall, and lead Doug MacGregor. The Silver Fox finalist team also includes third Terry Arsenault, second stone Mike Spencer, lead Darren Higgins, and alternate Jonathan Greenan.

The Hockin-skipped Silver Fox rink and the Montague team, skipped by Matthew MacDonald, both finished round robin play with 4-2 win-loss records, and squared off in a closely-fought 10 am semi-final match between the second and third place teams. In that game, the first three ends were blanked, with the two evenly-matched teams trading deuces in the fourth and fifth ends, and singles end six and seven, giving MacDonald, who had hammer in the even ends, last rock advantage coming home. Hockin, however, stole a single to advance to the final with a 4-3 win.

The winning Charlottetown team will now advance to the national Curling Club Championship, traditionally held in November. Dates and location have yet to be announced.

Women’s

The Silver Fox Curling Club team, skipped by Melissa Morrow, who made it to the final last year, kept their opponents off the scoreboard in the this year’s final, winning 7-0 over the hometown Bobbi-Jean Boylan team, with singles in five of the first six ends, and a deuce in the seventh. The Summerside squad had an identical 4-1 win-loss record to the Boylan team, but lost to them 7-6 in their round robin encounter, so the Maple Leaf rink advanced directly to the final, and the Fox foursome went to the semi-final, where  they beat the third-place Tammy Dewar team from Montague by a 9-5 score, aided greatly by a five-point sixth end.

Playing with Morrow again this year are third Darcee Birch, second Lindsey Spencer, and lead Miranda Ellis, with coach Jamie Newson, while Amy Macmillan, Mary Hart, and Sandra Jones complete the Maple Leaf finalist team roster.

The winning Silver Fox team will now advance to the national Curling Club Championship, traditionally held in November. Dates and location have yet to be announced.

(Photos courtesy of the Maple Leaf Curling Club)

The Curl PEI Provincial Mixed (fours) Curling Championship will take place March 1-4 2019 at the Montague Curling Rink, with eight teams, representing five curling clubs, taking part.

Both the defending Jamie Newson team from the Silver Fox and Charlottetown curling clubs and last year’s Tyler MacKenzie finalist foursome from Charlottetown are back this year. There are three teams from the host club, skipped by George Koke, Matthew MacDonald and Larry Richards, plus the Chase MacMillan junior team from Cornwall and Charlottetown, along with the Nick Blanchard rink from Crapaud, and the Corey Miller squad from the Silver Fox.

The eight teams will play a modified triple knockout draw, with the winners of each section advancing to a two-game championship round. Winners from each section drop down to compete in the next section. If a team wins all three draw sections, they will be declared champions, and the championship round will not be played. A team winning two sections will advance to both championship games and take the championship if they win either game, will their opponent would have to win both sections.

Click for end by end results

The winning rink will advance to the Canadian Mixed, from November 4-9 2019 at Foyer des loisirs et de la culture in Saguenay, Quebec.

Photo (L-R): Defending PEI Mixed champions Jamie Newson, Melissa Morrow, Andrew MacDougall, Miranda Ellis

Click for previous years’ Mixed websites and winners

Draw

(Modified Triple Knockout format with 2 game ch’ship round, if required.)

Schedule

Explanation for P1 and P2:

1. If one team wins all three qualifiers: Championship Round is not required.

2. If one team wins two qualifiers. They play in both X and Z (and win the event if they win either game), the other winner plays in Y (and has to win both games).

3. If there are three separate winners: the team that played in the most qualifying games* plays in Z and the other winners play off in X and Y. If there is a tie in the number of qualifying games played, then the team that qualified earliest goes to Z and the other two teams play off in X and Y.

*Qualifying games are in yellow on the schedule.

Team Rosters 

(Click on link for players)

Following the completion of Round Robin play on Sunday, the Championship Round gets underway at 10 am on Monday, weather permitting, at the Maple Leaf Curling Club in O’Leary. In the men’s section, the Charlottetown Curling Club team, skipped by Dennis Watts, went undefeated with a 6-0 win-loss record, and will have a “double life” in the Championship Round. They will play the winner of the 10 am game between second place Montague (Matthew MacDonald, 4-2) and third place Silver Fox (Tim Hockin, also 4-2) at 2 pm. If Charlottetown wins that game they will take the title. If the other team wins, there will be a deciding game at 6 pm.

Bobbi-Jean Boylan rink from the Maple Leaf finish in1st place in the Women’s Round Robin, and advance to the final

On the Women’s side, the Bobbi-Jean Boylan team from the host Maple Leaf Curling Club finished in first place in the round robin with a 4-1 win-loss record, and will advance to the 2 pm Monday final, where they will play the winner of the 10 am semi-final between second place Silver Fox (Melissa Morrow, also 4-1) and third place Montague (Tammy Dewar, 3-2).

The winning teams will advance to the national Curling Club Championship. Dates and venue have yet to be announced, but it has traditionally been held in November.