Islanders are coming home with gold and silver medals from international curling competitions in Norway.
Vice-skip Ian MacAulay of Souris and second Morgan Currie of Summerside are members of the Canadian squad that won gold at the world senior men’s championship on Saturday. Charlottetown’s Brett Gallant and Winnipeg’s Jocelyn Peterman lost 6-5 to Sweden in the gold medal game of the mixed doubles championship.
Team Canada, with a pair of Islanders on the roster, won the world senior men’s curling championship Saturday in Norway. From left are Paul Adams, Ken Sullivan, Morgan Currie of Summerside, Ian MacAulay of Souris and Bryan Cochrane. Alina Pavlyuchik/World Curling Federation – Contributed
The Bryan Cochrane-skipped senior squad, which also includes lead Ken Sullivan, alternate Paul Adams and coach Bill Tschirhart, defeated Scotland’s David Smith 7-5 in an extra end to capture gold.
“Being a world champion has got a pretty good ring to it,” MacAulay said in an interview conducted by his son Jeremy MacAulay in Norway for The Guardian. “Getting through Canada in curling is quite a feat and to win the worlds is a bigger feat again.”
Currie called it an unforgettable, one-of-a kind, amazing experience.
“When I started curling in 1977, I never dreamt this was possible,” he said. “And going through this with Mr. MacAulay, here, a fellow Islander, was the most important part of all for me.”
The three medals won on Saturday also come from each of Prince Edward Island’s three counties.
“We also have the whole Island covered in a way because (MacAulay is) kind of east and I’m kind of west, so it’s a total accomplishment for Prince Edward Island geographically,” Currie said.
Mixed Doubles
Canada opened the mixed doubles championship game with a single in the first end before Sweden tied it with one in the second. Sweden stole singles in the next two ends to take a 3-1 lead to the fifth.
Canada, which was coached by coach Jeff Stoughton, responded with two in the fifth to tie it. The teams traded deuces the next two ends and Sweden scored one in the eighth to win it.
“They played really well,” Gallant said of Olympic gold-medallist Anna Hasselborg and three-time world men’s champion Oskar Eriksson in an interview with Curling Canada. “I myself couldn’t quite get the line on a few of my shots and gave them some openings.”