Mar. 25-The Alan Inman rink from the Crapaud Community Curling Club and the Nola Murphy foursome from Summerside’s Silver Fox Curling and Yacht Club are the new “The Dominion” provincial curling club champions, winning their respective finals  this afternoon at the Montague Curling Club, and advancing to the national The Dominion Curling Club Championship, November 19-24 at the Scarboro Golf and Country Club in Scarborough Ont.

Both of this afternoon’s contests were close, with Inman and his rink of third Stephen Thomson, second Gordon Fall, and lead Tony Quigley edging the defending champion Donal Clarey team from the host club by a 6-5 score, and the Murphy team, with third Donna Arsenault, second Paulette Richard, and lead Elspeth Carmody, getting by last year’s runners-up, the Marie Ford team from Crapaud, by a 4-3 score.

Men's winners (L-R): George Koke (President PEICA and Montague Curling Club), Tony Quigley, Gordon Fall, Steven Thomson, Alan Inman, Dennis McCaughey (The Dominion Insurance)

Women's winners (L-R): George Koke (President PEICA and Montague Curling Club), Elspeth Carmody, Paulette Richard, Donna Arsenault, Nola Murphy, Dennis McCaughey (The Dominion Insurance)

Inman had a 5-2 lead after six ends, when Clarey tied it up with a triple in the seventh, but Inman had last rock advantage coming home and recorded a single for the win. The women’s game was low-scoring with three blank ends, with Murphy trailing 3-2 going into the final end, and scoring a deuce for the victory. Other members of the runner-up Ford team are Julie Mutch, Vivian Holm, and Heather MacRae, while Larry Richards, David Rice, and Steven MacLeod complete the Clarey foursome.

Men's runners-up (L-R): George Koke (President PEICA and Montague Curling Club), Steven MacLeod, David Rice, Larry Richards, Donald Clarey, Dennis McCaughey (The Dominion Insurance)

Women's runners-up (L-R); George Koke (President PEICA and Montague Curling Club), Heather MacRae, Vivian Holm, Julie Mutch, Marie Ford, Dennis McCaughey (The Dominion Insurance)

The Ford and Clarey teams earned byes to the finals by virtue of finishing round robin play Saturday in first place, with 4-1 and 5-0 records respectively, with the second and third place teams battling this morning to advance to the final. In the semis, Murphy eliminated the defending champion Lorianne Davies rink from Cornwall with an 8-1 win, opening with a three point first end and a single steal in the second end to build an early lead.  The men’s game was close in the first half, with Inman and his  team taking a 3-2 lead over Western’s Daryl MacDonald rink into the fifth end. The Crapaud squad took over the scoreboard in the second half, stealing a single in the fifth, a deuce in the sixth and another single in seven to win 7-2 and advance to the final.

In the round robin, which wrapped up on Saturday, the Inman rink placed second in the men’s section with a 4-1 record, while Western’s MacDonald foursome was third at 3-2.

Davies and Murphy both finished the round robin with 3-2 records. Murphy beat Davies 9-5 in their round robin encounter and was awarded second place.

Finishing out of the playoffs in the men’s section was Bob Fowler and his Cornwall rink at 2-3, Blair Jay and his Silver Fox team at 1-4, and the Pat Birtwistle team from Charlottetown, who did not manage to pick up a win in the event.

Gail Greene and her Montague rink and Rushell MacDonald and her Western team both ended play at 2-3 on the women’s side, with Cathy MacDougall of Charlottetown finishing at 1-4.