(Curling Canada News Release) A rise in positive tests for COVID-19 among athletes who were scheduled to attend, along with the risks associated with travelling, have forced Curling Canada to cancel the 2022 Canadian Mixed Doubles Curling Trials.
The event was scheduled to begin on Tuesday at Stride Place in Portage la Prairie, Man., and was to decide Canada’s mixed doubles team for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
But the increasing numbers of Trials-bound athletes testing positive for COVID-19, along with the rise in cases across Canada, made it impossible to stage the event in a safe, responsible manner for athletes, staff and volunteers.
Unlike the Calgary bubble, which had months of preparation time and allowed athletes to self-isolate at home, and get tests done prior to their departure for the events, the dramatic rise in positive cases related to the sudden emergence of the Omicron variant across Canada in the past week made those safety precautions impossible to carry out.
Curling Canada’s High Performance staff will consult with the Canadian Olympic Committee and Own the Podium to decide the best process to nominate a Canadian mixed doubles team that will compete in China. An announcement of the nominated team will be made when the process is complete.
Curling Canada is continuing to consult with local, regional and national health authorities for the remaining events in the 2021-22 season, and remains optimistic that its championship events can be staged safely and responsibly. At this time no further comment is available.
Arrangements are being made for ticket-holders to be refunded.
Curling Canada has announced the CanadInns Mixed Doubles Trials in Portage will go ahead as scheduled (December 28-January 2). In light of the pandemic, a heightened set of ‘bubbling’ and testing protocols will be in place. For more information, the Curling Canada News Release is available elsewhere here at thecurler.com
Meanwhile, CurlManitoba has announced that four events are being postponed. These include:
The 2022 – ASHAM U18 Provincials The 2022 – Canada Inns Youth Winter Bonspiel The 2022 – Manitoba Open and HalfSPIEL
The word ‘postponed’ is used deliberately instead of ‘cancelled’ as there is a desire on the part of CurlManitoba to re-schedule these events if it is possible to do so.
(Curling Canada Release) Portage la Prairie is once again set to become the mixed doubles hotspot of Canada when it hosts the second edition of the Canad Inns Canadian Mixed Doubles Trials beginning this Tuesday at Stride Place.
The event, scheduled from Dec. 28 – Jan. 2, will determine the mixed doubles team representing Canada at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing. That winning team will defend Canada’s gold medal in 2018, courtesy of Kaitlyn Lawes and John Morris. Morris (Canmore, Alta.) will once again be competing in the field and has an opportunity to become the first player to win back-to-back mixed doubles curling trials events after successfully winning the inaugural event hosted in Portage la Prairie during the last curling quadrennial.
Morris, a two-time Olympian (gold at men’s competition in 2010 and gold at mixed doubles in 2018), is seeking his third appearance at an Olympic Winter Games. 2018 Olympian Rachel Homan (Beaumont, Alta.) joins Morris to pursue a path to Beijing. But the field is nothing short of incredible, featuring a who’s who of mixed doubles curling in Canada and decorated with Olympians.
Pool A features Nancy Martin (Saskatoon)/Tyrel Griffith (Kelowna, B.C.), who enter the event as the top seed in the Canadian Mixed Doubles Rankings (CMDR) as of Dec. 14, 2021. Martin/Griffith head into Portage la Prairie as the 2019 Canadian Mixed Doubles Championship silver-medalists and one of the most consistent teams on the mixed doubles tour this season. Brent Laing (Horseshoe Valley, Ont.) and Selena Njegovan (Winnipeg) join them as the second seed in the pool. Laing, who regularly curls with his wife Jennifer Jones in mixed doubles, had to find a replacement partner after Jones earned a trip to the 2022 Olympic Winter Games with her women’s team. Laing called upon Njegovan, who played vice-skip for Team Tracy Fleury and won silver at the 2021 Tim Hortons Curling Trials, to join him.
Those teams will compete against a talented Pool A field, including 2018 Canadian mixed doubles gold-medalists and world bronze-medalists Laura Walker (Edmonton) and Kirk Muyres (Regina), and two-time Canadian mixed doubles silver-medalists Kadriana Sahaidak and Colton Lott of Gimli, Man. Shannon Birchard (Winnipeg)/Catlin Schneider (Regina), Émilie Desjardins/Robert Desjardins (Chicoutimi, Que.), Lauren Wasylkiw/Shane Konings (Souffville, Ont.) and Kerri Einarson (Camp Morton, Man.)/Brad Jacobs (Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.) round out of the field.
The pool features a pair of players who bookend the entire history of mixed doubles curling in Canada. Robert Desjardins is one-half of the inaugural Canadian mixed doubles gold-medallist team. In 2013, he won the championship with Isabelle Néron. Einarson is one-half of the defending Canadian mixed doubles championship team after winning the 2021 championship with Brad Gushue. Einarson forces with Jacobs, the 2014 Olympic gold-medallist in men’s curling, after Gushue qualified for the Olympic Winter Games with his men’s team.
Pool B includes four Olympian curlers vying to wear the Maple Leaf once again. 2018 Olympian Lisa Weagle (Ottawa) and her partner John Epping (Toronto) are the top seed in the pool. The experienced Olympic duo of Homan/Morris is also in the pool. While Marc Kennedy (St. Albert, Alta.), 2010 Olympic gold-medallist and 2018 Olympian, will try and qualify for this third Olympics and first as a member of the mixed doubles team. He’s playing with Val Sweeting (Lottie Lake, Alta.), who was just shy of winning the inaugural mixed doubles trials event in 2018 with Gushue, where the duo fell short in the final against Lawes and Morris. Weagle and Kennedy are both in unique positions to represent Canada in their respective four-player events and mixed doubles curling, which has never been done by a Canadian. Weagle, alternate for Team Jones, has already booked her spot to Beijing in the women’s competition, while Kennedy was just announced as the Team Gushue’s alternate earlier this week.
Clancy Grandy/Patrick Janssen (Pickering, Ont.), Bobbie Sauder/Brendan Bottcher (Spruce Grove, Alta.), 2014 Canadian mixed doubles gold-medallists Kim Tuck/Wayne Tuck (Strathroy, Ont.), Laurie St-Georges /Félix Asselin (Laval, Que.) and Chelsea Carey (Calgary)/Colin Hodgson (Red Lake, Alta.) round out the field.
The teams play a seven-game round-robin, with the top team in each pool receiving a bye in the playoffs. The teams with the next best four win-loss records qualify for the playoffs. Round-robin play begins on Dec. 28 at 9 a.m. (all times Central) and concludes on Dec. 31 at 12:30. Playoffs start on Dec. 31 at 4 p.m., with the semifinal occurring at 9:30 a.m. on Jan. 2 and the final at 1:30 p.m.
The winning team will join national mixed doubles coach Scott Pfeifer, and men’s and women’s Olympic teams skipped by Gushue and Jones in Beijing for the 2022 Olympic Winter Games, scheduled for Feb. 4-20.The mixed doubles competition begins two days before the Opening Ceremony on Feb. 2, with the gold-medal game held on Feb. 8. An expanded field of 10 teams will compete for the opportunity to top the podium in the second-ever mixed doubles competition at the event. Canada will enter the mixed doubles event at the top-ranked country in the world in the discipline.
Tickets for the 2022 Canad Inns Canadian Mixed Doubles Trials can be purchased here.
The event will be streamed live and available through CBC Sports digital platforms: cbcsports.ca, the CBC Sports app for iOS and Android devices and the free CBC Gem streaming service. The complete schedule can be found here.
Fair to the other team members or not, the inevitable comparisons in curling always seem to be made between the skips – especially when it comes to historical records.
Not only did new Scotties champion skip Mackenzie Zacharias share the ice with Darcy Robertson, she shares a spot in Manitoba curling history as well
The reason is simple – it is easy! A little easier than comparing thirds – a lot easier than comparing thirds with leads. Easy because the two names are attached to the team and that’s the identity that mostly shows up in articles like this. Also easy because their name always comes first on the historical record list.
The story idea started from the realization that just two curling seasons ago, Mackenzie Zacharias (and her entire team) had won the Manitoba, Canadian, and World Juniors.
Who was the last Manitoba World Junior champion to win the Manitoba women’s or men’s provincial title?
Answer? It has never happened? Kelly MacKenzie (Scott), of course, won a BC women’s and went on to win the world title – but not Manitoba. Bob Ursel, David Hamblin, Braden Calvert: none of them won the Manitoba men’s although it is fair to say that Calvert still could.
So what about Canadian Junior champions – and did anyone do it in the second season after winning the Canadian Junior?
Answer? Go back almost 40 years. Darcy Kirkness skipped the 1984 Manitoba and Canadian Junior champion team (before there was a world championship so they had no chance there!). Her team of Barb Kirkness, Janet Harvey and Barb Fetch won Manitoba and Canada. In 1986, the Kirkness sisters and Barb Fetch (with Faye Irwin) won the Manitoba women’s title. That’s the same second season after the junior championship as with the Zacharias sisters – and it would be splitting hairs to suggest the December timing this year means the Altona team actually did it a little sooner.
For those who don’t recognize the name – that’s the same Darcy Robertson as was competing this year in Carberry.
So Team Zacharias of 2020 and 2022 shares the accomplishment of winning “soonest after Canadian Junior title” with Team Kirkness of 1984 & 1986 (in Manitoba curling!).
However, Team Zacharias stands alone in Manitoba curling history in one regard. Mackenzie & Emily Zacharias, Karlee Burgess, and Lauren Lenentine are the ONLY intact Manitoba Junior Champion team, ever, to go on and win a Manitoba Women’s or Men’s championship.
END 10: Zacharias lead Lauren Lenetine made two perfect tick shots, moving one guard to within 18 inches of the wall and the other to about two inches from the wall. Second Emily Zacharias followed with a hit & roll for a biter behind Lenetine’s two stones which had rolled nearly out of play themselves. From there, Watling threw guards – Zacharias threw peels.
As Zacharias settled in the hack to throw her final shot, she had the security of that biter. SHe didn’t have to stick for the win – but no mistake she hit and stuck for two and the win.
(l-r) Mackenzie Zacharias, Karlee Burgess, Emily Zacharias, Lauren Lenentine – with Coach Sheldon Zacharias are the 2022 Manitoba Scotties Tournament of Hearts Champions
END 9: With skips stones to come, Zacharias had one counter, a stone biting the back corner of the 12 foot circle. Watling’s draw to it was a foot short and angled, allowing Zacharias to blast it out. After a time out, Watling elected to play the hit to remove the Zacharias counter. She rolled to bite the back of the rings at the centre line and Zacharias blanked.
END 8: A Watling hit & roll facing four resulted in one and a tie
END 8: A Zacharias centre guard and a Watling draw behind it to the front edge of the button and the game was on. As Watling went to throw her last rock, she faced four Zacharias counters but they were all around the 12 foot circle. A hit and roll from the outside to the four foot gave Watling a single point and a tie.
END 7: Zacharias, with her first stone, squeaked past a corner guard to remove a Watling stone and roll buried. She had two behind the guard, forcing Watling to play a runback. She removed one Zacharias stone but left the skip a draw for two – a draw which had to be full 12 foot and just made with full sweeping.
END 6: With her last rock, Zacharias attempted to tap the red shot stone past her own for a possible two – but jammed.
END 6: The first four stones were ‘by the book’. Watling opened the end with a stone on the centre line biting the eight foot circle. A Zacharias corner. A Watling centre guard bit the rings and Zacharias went behind her own corner guard. As the end unfolded, Watling with her last rock had an outside raise opportunity on her own stone in the front corner of the 12 foot circle. Zacharias had two counters angles behind it. Watling killed one and rolled for shot stone – leaving Zacharias a delicate shot to angle the shot stone past her own and possibly count two. She curled up too much and the jam resulted in a Watling steal of one and the first lead of the game for the Winnipeg team.
END 5: A first stone Watling double kill attempt jammed on her own stone in the back 12 foot circle leaving Zacharias lying second shot stone. She removed the shot stone and Watling was forced to hot for a single. And a tie (3-3) at the mid-game break.
END 4: The Zacharias out-turn draw across the centre line had to curl past the guard and the Watling stone on the centre line in the eight foot
END 4: Watling controlled play and had Zacharias in trouble. Facing three, Zacharias played a tricky draw that had to curl past a mid-high guard, and a rock in the top eight foot, to count one in the four foot circle.
END 3: Zacharias’ first rock in the four foot and as the end played out looked positioned to steal a single. Watling with her first stone cleared three centre guards, rolling one of her own to bite the rings as third shot. Zacharias considered a guard on her own shot rock but cautiously elected to hit the biter and roll for a guard. She did not get the roll and Watling hit for two.
END 2: A perfect draw behind her own guard and a second draw to the four foot for a deuce for Zacharias
END 2: A Watling corner and a Zacharias rock almost biting the 12 foot circle were the only “clutter’ when Zacharias went to the hack to throw her first stone. She threw a perfect draw the top corner of the four foot – fully buried behind her own stone. Watling drew to it but was about an inch short of perfect. Zacharias drew full four foot for a pair.
END 1: In the semi-final, there were exactly 14 rocks in play at the conclusion of the opening end. A different story in the final – a simple, clean end. Mackenzie Zacharias and her young Altona team, who are still the reigning World Junior Champions, had a simple out-turn hit up the centre line to blank.
Kristy Watling (Assiniboine Memorial) Hailey Ryan, Emilie Rafnson, Sarah Pyke and Coach Jim Watling have advanced to the Manitoba Scotties Tournament of Hearts final game with an 8-6 semi-final victory over the Kaitlyn Jones/Abby Ackland team.
A score of two, as a bounceback after giving up a three ender on the fifth end, was one of three deuces scored by Team Watling in the game. A stolen two on the third gave them a 3-1 lead and a stolen two on the seventh gave them an 8-4 lead.
Team Watling will take on the Altona team of Mackenzie Zacharias, Karlee Burgee, Emily Zachariasn, Lauren Lententine and Coach Sheldon Zacharias in the 4PM final game on Carberry.
An end-by-end semi-final recap follows.
Sportsnet’s Joan McCusker prepares to interview the winner – Kristy Watling
END 10: The obvious centre guards went up early but it was an open end. With a stone in the four foot and a centre guard partially covering it, Jones’ attempt to put a second stone in the rings came up short. Watling removed the single counter and the game ended 8-6, earning Watling the Sportsnet interview!
WATLING: Assiniboine Memorial (throwing Red) 012 102 200 JONES/ACKLAND: Assiniboine Memorial (throwing Yellow) 100 030 011
END 9: Up three with hammer, Wating may have been over-cautious and a couple of half shots left her facing three Jones counters with her final stone. A double kill gave her a two point lead coming home.
END 8: When Watling rolled her last stone to the cluster at the side of the eight foot circle, Jones was left with only a draw for one.
END 8: Down four, Jones played the corner guards, Watling played the centre of the rings. With skip stones to come, it was the first wide open end of the game. Watling was facing two with her first and rolled from centre to sit in front of the second Jones counter. Jones attempting a freeze did not curl up enough. Watling banged it out and sat two in front of the Jones stone, forcing a draw for one.
END 7: Jones had a last shot hit for a possible double for two but could not navigate a fairly generous port, wrecked and gave up a steal of two to trail 8-4.
END 6: Ackland’s stone had to curl up a little more to tap the yellow Jones stone out past the stone in the back 8 foot circle
END 6: Attempting to remove the Watling shot stone, Jones’ first rock wrecked on her own second shot and left Watling lying four. She threw a guard with her first and Jones’ draw attempt to cut down the end slid deep in the four foot. Watling’s tapback for a possible five needed to curl up just a little more She pushed the Jones stone to contact one of her own in the back of the eight foot. Watling scored two but lost the measure for a third.
END 5: Playing confidently with a 3 point lead, Watling established a stone biting the back of the button. She gave Jones a break when her first shot draw, to put a second stone in the four foot, rubbed a Jones stone and left Jones a possible double kill. Jones jammed. An Ackland attempt to hit and roll another stone into the four foot back-fired when Ackland rubbed her own stone into the open and left Jones a hit for three.
END 4: Attempting to angle raise the yellow stone right of centre line biting the 8 foot, Jones wrecked on the red guard at the camera lens
END 4: With one stone each to come, Jones had shot rock along with #3, 4, 5, & 6. Watling’s draw to the shot stone in the four foot tapped it back a few inches. The separation tempted Jones to play an angle raise take out for at least two, maybe more if the angles were right. Jones over-curled, wrecked, and gave up another steal of one.
END 3: Play continued in the four foot circle, a Kristy Watling draw to the four foot forced Kaitlyn Jones to play a hit which went bad. It jammed out her own stone, she rolled harmlessly away and Watling stole two.
END 2: Watling attempt to double out the yellows failed. Watling scored one.
END 2: Aggressive play by Team Jones forced Watling to play most of the end in the four foot circle. A last shot difficult double for two didn’t work out and Watling put one of her own on the scoreboard.
END 1: The game was on right from the start – 14 rocks still in play after the final shot. Abby Ackland set the Jones team up to count with an angle raise to tap a buried rock to the button with her second stone but that was all they could score. With last rock, Jones’ wide in-turn draw needed to bit the button for a second point – a tough shot which didn’t succeed. Team Jones forced to take one with the hammer.
(Carberry Draw 13: December 18) The final round of play in the Carberry Scotties Tournament of Hearts presented by Bayer ended in dramatic fashion Saturday afternoon.
The fate of every team depended on the outcome of their own game. Three also depended on the outcome of the game on Sheet A.
Mackenzie Zacharias controlled her own fate. She had to beat Kaitlyn Jones to advance to the Sunday playoff round.
Darcy Robertson had to beat Kristy Watling, to force a tie if Zacharias lost.
Tracy Fleury and Kristy McDonald played each other – the winner would also be in the tie if Zacharias lost.
The result was three entertaining games which went to the final shots.
Robertson, up one coming home without hammer, made a perfect draw to the four-foot circle behind her own rock biting the front of the rings. Watling had no choice but to play the run-double kill. She failed and Robertson had done her job – winning 7-5.
McDonald led Fleury 9-6 coming home and Fleury had hammer. With her final stone, McDonald faced four and played a double kill but nose hit, allowing Fleury a draw for 4 and victory. Fleury had done her job – winning 10-9.
But Zacharias broke their hearts – drawing to the button with her last shot coming home and a 6-5 win over Jones.
Jones, Watling and Zacharias advance to the Sunday playoffs. Zacharias owns the bye to the final as her team beat the other two in their preliminary round meetings.
(Carberry Draw 12: December 18) WATLING, JONES ADVANCE TO SUNDAY PLAYOFFS … The Kaitlyn Jones/Abby Ackland team and Kristy Watling have improved their records to 6W-1L and the two are assured of advancing to tomorrow’s playoff round. Mackenzie Zacharias improved to 5W-2L and, with a win later Saturday, willbe the third team in the playoffs.
If Zacharias loses, the chase for the third spot will be wide open as the other three teams all have 4W-3L records.
Robertson tasted defeat first Saturday moring. It was indicative of Darcy Robertson’s day that on the fourth end, Robertson had a rock full in the back of the four-foot circle and yet Jones had an open draw to the front half of the four foot circle for four. It was the Jones/Ackland foursome’s second four of the game as they opened with a four as well. Robertson fought back to trail 9-6 after six but a “go-for-it” seventh went wrong and a big score ended the game.
Jones 410 400 5x =14 Robertson 002 031 0x =6
Team Watling lead Sarah Pyke delivers
Trailing 3-1 playing the fourth, Watling looked to be setting up a deuce but Kristy McDonald drew to the eight foot partly open but angled onto a Watling rock biting the back of the eight foot. Watling tried to blast it out but left a steal of one and trailed 4-1. On the fifth end, facing three, McDonald’s last stone draw to a Watling stone in the back of the four foot was just heavy and rolled open allowing Watling a hit for four and a 5-4 lead at the mid-game break. The Watling foursome controlled play from there and led 10-6 playing the ninth enroute to a 10-7 victory.
McDonald 201 100 201 x =7 Watling 010 043 020 x =10
In the game between Mackenzie Zacharias and Tracy Fleury, the two teams which had come into the championship round at 3W-2L, Team Zacharias posted their second consecutive win and effectively ended the Team Fleury run. Zacharias established a 6-2 lead after five ends and controlled play from there although she had to make a saving angle raise takeout with her first stone facing three on the eighth end. The end result was a stolen point when Fleury was unable to remove a pair of counters. A deuce on end nine got Fleury within two and she was laying three when Zacharias delievered her final stone of the game. A well placed Fleury final draw meant Zacharias had to hit and roll in to win – she made no mistake.
On the 4PM draw, Zachaias plays Jones, Watling plays Robertson, and McDonald plays Fleury
(Carberry Draw 11: December 17)WATLING, JONES AT 5W-1L, FOUR AT 4W-2L .. Coming into the championship round at the Carberry Scotties with a 3W-2L record, Mackenzie Zacharias and her young Altona knew they faced the daunting task of probably having to win three games in a row to reach the playoffs.
Karlee Burgess & Emily Zacharias sweep a Mackenzie Zacharias draw.
They started the quest decisively, scoring four multiple ends in the first five to post a 10-2 short game victory over previously unbeaten Kristy Watling.
The big shot of the game was an angle raise takeout on the third end by skip Mackenzie Zacharias for a three and a three point lead.
Zacharias 203 32x =10 Watling 020 00x =2
The Watling loss brings her back into a tie with Kaitlyn Jones/Abby Ackland who defeated the Kristy McDonald team. McDonald took a two point lead on the sixth end with a last rock draw to bite the four foot, a draw which took maximum effort by her sweepers but Jones/Ackland scored singles in the next two ends to tie at 4-4 after eight ends. McDonald was forced to one on the ninth and Kaitlyn Jones made no mistake on her tenth end last shot tap on a stone in the back four foot for two and a 6-5 win.
McDonald 100 102 001 0 =5 Jones 001 010 110 2 =6
Like Zacharias, top seeded Tracy Fleury came into this round at 3W-2L and needs a trio of victories. She got the first Friday evening with a win over Darcy Robertson. Leading all the way, Fleury was up 6-4 coming home and had a last rock open hit for a 7-4 win. Fleury and Robertson are now tied with Zacharias at 4W-2L.
As a student of Manitoba curling history, I congratulate the Carberry Curling Club for the display which honours EVERY Carberry Men’s team which has advanced to provincial championship competition since the first one – Carberry’s Muirhead team who played in the Macdonald Brier trophy competition in the 1928 MCA Bonspiel. (FYI – beginning in 1925, the original Manitoba Men’s Championship was played for the Macdonald Brier Trophy – you can find the story at the new Manitoba Curling Virtual Museum (www.mbcurlmuseum.com) website.)
The Carberry women who have represented the club at provincial championships are also celebrated on the walls of the curling club, beginning with Carol Ann McDonald’s 1973 team which competed in the Manitoba Lassie that year.
I have also enjoyed looking at the small museum display featuring the 1949 Carberry British Consols team of Harold Nelson which is part of the Carberry Plains Community Centre decorations this week at the Scotties.
The photo cutline proclaims that Harold Nelson (skip), Walter Froom (third), Samual Robinson (second), and William Witherspoon (lead) were Carberry’s top curling team, competing in the 1949 Manitoba Bonspiel and the British Consols playdowns representing Zone 3.
The sweater crests show that the team had also been “contestants” in the 1948 Diamond Jubilee MCA Bonspiel and at least one of them played in the 75th anniversary ‘spiel 15 years later in 1963.
The search for information led me to Rick Mutton, the Manitoba Curling Hall of Fame & Museum’s “factician” (not sure if that’s a word but it perfectly describes Rick’s role as Manitoba curling fact-finder).
It turns out that the team only played in one British Consols together and their record was ‘quite ordinary’ as they compiled a 1W-4L record in five games. The event that year was 12 teams, split into two pools of six. The legendary Ken Watson went undefeated in the Carberry team’s pool and went on to beat equally legendary Jimmy Welsh in the provincial final.
In all, skip Harold Nelson made four British Consols appearances with a 4W-7L record. Nelson and second Walter Froom played one game in the single knock Consols in 1944. Nelson and Bill Witherspoon, teamed with Irwin & Byron Steen, made British Consols appearances in 1952 and 1954, with a total 3W-2L record. They also won the Black & Armstrong event in the 1953 MCA Bonspiel.
The record also shows that Nelson played lead for another legendary Manitoba curler, Leo Johnson, on a team that won the 1965 & 1968 Stovel’s Veteran’s Bonspiel which was played at the same time as the MCA ‘spiel.
Three teams from each competition pool have advanced to the Championship Round at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts presented by Bayer.
The three from each pool will play the three from the other pool with their total eight game win-loss record determining the three who will go to the playoffs on Sunday.
FRIDAY: 6:30PM………..Tracy Fleury VS Darcy Robertson; Kaitlyn Jones VS Kristy McDonald; Kristy Watling VS Mackenzie Zacharias
SATURDAY 10:00AM………..Kristy Watling VS Kristy McDonald; Tracy Fleury VS Mackenzie Zacharias; Kaitlyn Jones VS Darcy Robertson
SATURDAY 4:00PM………..Kaitlyn Jones VS Mackenzie Zacharias; Kristy Watling VS Darcy Robertson; Tracy Fleury VS Kristy McDonald
SATURDAY 8:00PM………..ONE TIEBREAKER GAME (if needed)
(Carberry Draw #10: December 17)ZACHARIAS ADVANCES AT 3W-2L; ROBERTSON, MCDONALD BOTH 4W-1L .. Mackenzie Zacharias and her Altona team, still World Junior Champions have qualified for the championship round at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts presented by Bayer in Carberry.
Their 3W-2L record comes at the expense of Beth Peterson (Assiniboine Memorial) who on this day, was over-matched. Zacharias, who led 6-2 after five ends, gave up a deuce on six but had a draw to the four foot for three and the win on end seven.
At 3W-2L, the Zacharias team will need to win all three of their championship round games and hope for wins by the right teams at the right times if they hope to advance to Sunday’s final three playoffs.
Zacharias 202 110 3x = 9 Peterson 020 002 0x =4
Alyssa Calvert’s Carberry team gave the hometown crowd something to cheer about as they bested Darcy Robertson (Assiniboine Memorial) 5-4. Up 2 coming home and lying one, Calvert made a perfect draw to bite the front corner of the four foot, just beating out Robertson’s second shot rock. A ‘hail mary’ double kill attempt by Robertson yielded only one and what could be a key loss going forward as Robertson advances with a 4W-1L record.
Kristy McDonald’s Granite team were tested by Terry Ursel (Neepawa). Leading 3-2, McDonald had was laying five when Ursel threw her last. McDonald had left an opportunity when her last rock draw overcurled and left a lane to the four foot but Ursel came up shot and the game ended. McDonald goes in the next round with a 4W-1L record.
McDonald 200 001 005 x =8 Ursel 001 010 000 x =2
The first round of the championship, as these three teams take on the three advancing from the other pool, has McDonald playing Kaitlyn Jones, Robertson against Tracy Fleury, and Zacharias against Kristy Watling.
(Carberry Draw #9: December 17) WATLING ADVANCES UNDEFEATED .. No matter who won, both teams already knew they would be advancing to the afternoon championship round but this morning’s Tracey Fleury (East St. Paul) vs Kristy Watling (Assiniboine Memorial) had longer term implications.
The winner of their final round-robin game would carry the head-to-head edge in case they are tied for playoff positions after the championship round.
That could determine playoff positioning but it might also eliminate the loser as there will be a single tiebreaker game if needed Saturday evening. All other ties will be resolved by head-to-head and if necessary, pre-game last stone draw results.
That edge will go to Team Watling who stayed perfect at 5W-0L with a morning victory.
The third end looked pivotal. After scoring two with a near perfect second end, Fleury was lying three when she threw a second centre line guard with her first stone on the third. Watling was able to draw to reduce the number to two and when Fleury removed the only possible hit, Watling had to play another cut-down shot, removing another Fleury stone with an angled raise takeout. But Fleury stole one for a 3-1 lead.
But the two by Team Fleury on the second end was only the first of many in the game. After eight ends, Watling had scored three deuces including a steal and Fleury had scored two more for a 7-7 tie. On the ninth, A Watling draw to the four foot for another deuce came up well short after a ‘pick’ and Fleury had last rock coming home, with hammer, trailing 8-7. With tht last stone, she needed to curl past a guard and tap out a Watling counter but slid past, leaving a steal and a 9-7. Watling victory. Fleury carries forward a 3W-2L record.
Fleury needed to move the buried red stone back for two and a win. Should she have drawn for pone and a tie?
Watling 100 220 201 1 =9 Fleury 021 002 020 0 =7
The Kaitlyn Jones/Abby Ackland (Assiniboine Memorial) team also knew going on the ice that they would be advancing to the next round but again the win was critical for the best possible record going forward. The Jones team, skipped by Ackland, improved their record to 4W-1L with Walter dropping to 1W-4L.
Jones 001 010 021 1 =6 Walter 100 101 100 0 =4
The third game on the ice this morning was a ‘strictly for pride’ game between Shae Bevan (St. Vital) and the Jennifer Clark-Rouire (Miami) team, skipped by Lisa McLeod. Bevan scored two coming home for her second victory while Clark-Rouire remained winless.
On the 1PM draw in Carberry, Mackenzie Zacharias (Altona) and Beth Peterson (Assiniboine Memorial will play with the winner advancing to the championship round along with Darcy Robertson (Assiniboine Memorial) and Kristy McDonald (Granite).
thecurler.com 