The playoffs match-ups are set as the Championship Round wrapped up on Wednesday evening at the 2019 Everest Canadian Seniors Curling Championships in Chilliwack, B.C.
Leading the way on the men’s side, as they have all week, is Bruce Korte from Saskatchewan, who finished the round robin and championship round with a perfect 10-0 record.
“Consistency has been key to our success this week,” said Korte. “We’ve all been playing really well this week and that’s the biggest attribute. We have great communication as a team, likely because we’ve played in some context together for many years and knew we’d make a good fit as a foursome.”
Saskatchewan cemented their top spot by scoring an 8-4 win over Nova Scotia’s Brent MacDougall in the final game of the championship round. MacDougall finishes out of the playoffs with a 4-6 record.
Wade White, Alberta (Curling Canada/Glen Ursel photo)
Alberta’s Wade White picked up the second playoff spot with a 7-3 record, despite losing his final game to British Columbia’s Wes Craig. Ontario’s Bryan Cochrane defeated Manitoba’s Dave Boehmer in the final draw to clinch the third playoff spot with a 6-4 record. And even with the loss to Ontario, Boehmer’s final record of 6-4 was still good enough to grab that fourth position.
With the final standings set, Korte (SK) will take on Boehmer (MB) in the 1 vs 4 game, while White (AB) will face Cochrane (ON) in the 2 vs 3 game.
Just out of playoff contention are Quebec’s François Roberge (6-4), Northern Ontario’s Al Hackner and B.C.’s Craig (5-5), followed by Nova Scotia (4-6) to round out the Championship pool.
In the men’s Seeding Pool, Yukon, P.E.I. and Newfoundland and Labrador share the top of the leaderboard with 4-5 records to finish out the event. Northwest Territories finishes at 3-6 followed by Nunavut (2-7) and New Brunswick (1-8).
In the women’s championship round, Sherry Middaugh and her Ontario team knew they had clinched top stop going into the final evening game, but still played hard to keep improving their record. They finished strong with a 7-4 win over B.C.’s Marilou Richter.
Second place belongs to Sherry Anderson who finishes with an 8-3 record. Alberta’s Glenys Bekkar moved up to third place after an 9-4 win over Manitoba’s Terry Ursel 5-4 and finishes the Championship Pool at 7-3. Manitoba’s Ursel claims the final playoff spot with a 6-4 record.
Team Alberta (Curling Canada/Glen Ursel photo)
So, the women’s match-ups are set: Middaugh (ON) meets Ursel (MB) in the 1 vs 4 game, and Anderson (SK) will play Bekkar (AB) in the 2 vs 3 game.
Just out of playoff contention are Nova Scotia’s Nancy McConnery (6-4), Northern Ontario’s Kim Beaudry (6-4), followed by Newfoundland and Labrador’s Diane Roberts (5-5) and finally B.C.’s Richter (4-6).
In the women’s Seeding Pool, Quebec’s Odette Trudel and Sharon Cormier’s Northwest Territories rink both finish with 5-4 records. Followed by Nunavut’s Geneva Chislett and Yukon’s Rhonda Horte (3-6), New Brunswick (1-8) and Prince Edward Island at 0-9.
Playoff games take place Thursday at 8:30 a.m. PT, with the men’s medal games at 12:30 p.m. PT, followed by the women’s medal games at 3:30p.m. PT.
Draw results for the 2019 Everest Canadian Seniors will be available at www.curling.ca. For event information, visit www.curling.ca/2019seniors.
Selected games from the 2019 Everest Canadian Seniors will be streamed live by CBC Sports. You can watch at cbcsports.ca or via the CBC Sports app for iOS and Android.