Nowlan wins 4th consecutive Master's Men's crown
Lou Nowlan of the host Silver Fox Curling and Yacht Club made it four in a row as he defeated clubmate Des Arsenault 7-2 to win the "B" section of the PEI Masters (60 and over) men's championship. As Nowlan, who was undefeated in the event, also won the A section, a playoff between the A and B section winners was not needed, and he takes his 4th straight Master's title. Both the Nowlan rink, which includes Doug Currie, Wayne Gardiner and Raymond Thomson, and the runner-up Arsenault rink which includes Cliff Poirier, George Power, and Thane Birch, earn the right to advance to the Maritime Master's championships, Feb. 12-15, 2006 at the Halifax Curling Club. Nowlan took four in the fifth end and stole one in the sixth for the win. Nowlan edged another clubmate, Jim Praught, 5-4 to advance to the B final. Earlier in the competition he doubled Louis Walsh, also from the Silver Fox 8-4 to take the A side of the double-knockout event. Arsenault defeated Walsh 8-5 to advance to the B final. Nowlan won the Maritime Master's in 2004, and was one of three runners-up in Cornwall last year, when Hap Mabey of the MCA club in Moncton won a shootout to resolve a 4-way tie.
Duffenais wins 3rd straight Masters Women's title
Earlier, the Jeanne Duffenais rink from the host Silver Fox Curling and Yacht Club captured their third straight PEI Master's women's championship, finishing round robin play with a 3-0 record. Irene Spriet of Montague finished second with a 2-1 win-loss record, while Virginia Hutt of the Western Community Curling Club in Alberton had one win and two losses. A fourth rink, Val MacLean of Charlottetown, had to drop out of the competition for personal reasons. As there were definitive winners for first and second, no playoff was needed. In their final round robin games, Duffenais defeated Spriet 7-4, and Spriet beat Hutt 8-2. Both winner Duffenais and runner-up Spriet have earned the right to compete in the Maritime Masters championships next month in Halifax. Duffenais is the defending Maritime champion. Other members of the Duffenais squad are Georgie Coulson, Ann Currie, and Wanda MacLean, while Marjorie Campbell, Louise MacLeod, Evelyn MacLure and 5th Helen Robbins round out the Spriet rink.