Scott Bruce, Josh Claeys, & Steen Sigurdson won with three as Scott Peterson had family duties.
(UPDATED) Steen Sigurdson (Deer Lodge), Hayden Forrester (Fort Rouge), Darren Perche (Charleswood) and Devon Wiebe (Charleswood) have won the four remaining Winnipeg Viterra Berths while Jeremy Sundell (Holland) has won the first of the available berths in Clearwater.
Sundell will skip the first provincial entry from Holland in many years after a shutout Sunday morning win over Dean North, Carman.
The Sigurdson victory over Travis Bale (Ft Rouge) came down to the final stone. Bale had made a hit past a centre guard, facing two, to score a single on the ninth end and come home tied 4-4. Sigurdson was able to keep the front clear on the tenth and when Bale slid too deep with his last rock, Sigurdson had a last stone draw to backing for the 5-4 win.
Darren Perche’s team includes brothers Jason, Shane & Bryce and Stuart Clinton.
The two Charleswood teams both had short games Sunday. Darren Perche and his brothers were up 6-2 playing the seventh end. Facing three, Brad Micholson (Deer Lodge) was unable to navigate a narrow port and the steal ended the game at 9-2.
Devon Wiebe and his team, led Mike Siwicki (Granite) 5-0 playing the sixth and a steal of two more ended that game.
Forrester, skipping the Cyrus Brandt entry, posted a five on the sixth end to eliminate Richard Muntain (St Vital).
Hayden Forrester, Cyrus Brandt, Brennan Sampson, Gabriel Brandt
Devon Wiebe’s team includes Thomas Dunlop, Julien Leduc, Zack Bilawka, and Brandon Radford
The Brandon and Dauphin curling clubs both gained a second entrant for Stonewall in the third game played in each of the two playoffs.
In Virden, Steve Irwin (Brandon) defeated Kelly Marnoch (Carberry) 6-5. Irwin joins Cale Dunbar.
In Gimli, Justin Richter (Beausejour) beat Wayne Ewasko (Beausejour) 9-6
In Clearwater, Dean North (Carman) defeated Mitch Titchkosky (Morden) 7-6 and Jesse Janz (Baldur) bested Ryan Hyde (Portage) 9-4.
(SATURDAY) BLANCHARD-BLANCHARD WIN VITERRA BERTH: The father-son combo of Greg & Derek Blanchard, following a long tradition of dad calling the game & throwing first while son throw the finals stones, have won an invitation to compete in the Viterra Championship in Stonewall in February.
Playing on a team listed as Joey Witherspoon (AMCC) but with Dan Gagne and Taylor McIntyre on the ice for the berth win, the Blanchard team gave up a four early but fought back to steal one on the ninth to take a 6-5 lead over Travis Bale (Ft Rouge).
Blanchard (the younger) made a last rock draw to bite the button coming home. It was a straight spot in the ice and Bale needed to squeak past a centre line guard to nose the counter straight back past a rock of his own in the back four foot circle. It didn’t curl up enough and Blanchard stole another for a 7-5 berth win.
Also at Deer Lodge, Daniel Birchard with long time teammates Kelly Fordyce and Andrew Peck posted an 8-3 berth win over Darren Perche (Charleswood). Brody Moore, nursing a sore knee provided moral support from the seating lobby.
(l-r) Andrew Peck, Brody Moore, Kelly Fordyce, Daniel Birchard – Pembina
A third Winnipeg berth was awarded Saturday as well. Thomas McGillivary (St. Vital) beat Devon Wiebe (Charleswood) 10-6 in that berth game.
In Virden, Jace Freeman-Virden (7-6 over Kelly Marnoch-Carberry) and Cale Dunbar-Brandon (8-5 over Steve Irwin-Brandon) won the two berths available Saturday.
In Dauphin, Greg Todoruk-Dauphin (9-4 over Kyle Forsyth-Dauphin) and Jeff Stewart-Gladstone (7-6 over Glenn Toews-Dauphin) won berths.
In LaSalle, Mark Lowdon-LaSalle beat Randy Neufeld-LaSalle 9-6 and 7-5 to win the best of three berth playoff.
In Gimli, Emerson Klimpke-Stonewall (9-3 over Justin Richter-Beausejour) and Justin Reynolds-Winnipeg Beach (7-2 over Wayne Ewasko-Beausejour) won two of the available Interlake berths.
All three berths in the playoff at Clearwater will be won on Sunday along with the final berth in Virden, Dauphin and Beausejour and four more at Deer Lodge.
(CurlManitoba Release) Teams from the now-closed Thistle Curling Club and from the Gimli Curling Club have won the Seagram’s Whisky Manitoba Curling Club Championships. They’ll be the Manitoba home-teams at the national championship at Assiniboine Memorial, in late November.
Kara Balshaw’s Thistle team of Heather Carson, Sandra Carson, Cathy Gingera, and alternate Kim Merasty went undefeated through the women’s division. Gimli’s Derrick Anderson with Justin Hoplock, Chris Sigurdson, and Mitch Einarson stumbled only once in seven games to win the men’s division of the event hosted by the Fort Rouge Curling Club.
Kara Balshaw’s Thistle team of Heather Carson, Sandra Carson, Cathy Gingera (r-l) with CurlManitoba President Keith Johnson (r) and Seagram’s rep Dean Clayton
Twenty-four teams from across Manitoba began the championship chase last Thursday.
The women’s championship final featured by a pair of highlight reel runbacks by Thistle skip Kara Balshaw – one on the seventh end for a three ender and one on the extra end. The latter became the game winning shot as Balshaw did not have to throw her last stone.
Team Balshaw started with the hammer and, after opening with a pair of blanks, Balshaw gave up a steal. She came close to giving up a bigger steal on the fourth end. Facing three, her hit facing three was tight to a guard just off-centre but she got by and stuck for a single and a tie after four ends.
Opposing skip Jennifer Clark-Rouire and her team of Karen Klein, Amanda Hickey, Kristie Moroz, and coach Ron Westcott moved ahead on the next end. A light-weight curling tap-back by Clark-Rouire, with her first stone of the sixth end, set up a pair and a 3-2 lead.
However, a Balshaw final rock double bump takeout on the seventh end put the Thistle team back in front. She had attempted the shot with her first but just rubbed a guard. Clark-Rouire, attempted to place a second guard but slid deep to the face of a Balshaw stone. The hit was just a little bit more open because the guard had been touched and there was no mistake on the last stone. Team Balshaw led 5-3 coming home.
The Fort Garry opponents fought back to score a deuce and a tie – setting up the dramatic extra end by Team Balshaw.
In the preliminary round, both Balshaw and Clark-Rouire had perfect 5W-0L records to earn first place in their respective pools. Team Balshaw had reached the final with a 7-5 win over former champion Stacey Irwin of Brandon while the Clark-Rouire foursome were 5-2 semifinal winners over Lisa Dickson (St. Vital).
Gimli’s Derrick Anderson with Justin Hoplock, Chris Sigurdson, and Mitch Einarson (l-r) with Seagram’s rep Dean Clayton (l) and Keith Johnston, CurlManitoba President
The men’s final was controlled by Anderson’s Gimli team who opened the game with a three on the first end. Down four after two, Team Bohn rebounded with a four on the third end. Skip David Bohn (Bryan Galbraith, Dennis Bohn, Larry Solomon, Shane Walker) made an apparently perfect freeze to his own shot stone on the front of the button. With two Anderson rocks behind, a steal seemed certain but the Gimli skip’s deadly accurate big weight hit bounced three rocks out of the four foot to salvage a single and a 5-4 lead at the break.
The big hit moved momentum back to the Gimli side. A steal of one more, followed by a pair for Team Bohn had the game tied 6-6 after six ends but the Gimli foursome kept the pressure on and put a four on the board in the seventh for a 10-6 concession.
Bohn and Anderson had topped the pools in the round-robin portion of the championship. Both had 4W-1L records. Anderson’s Gimli team beat Andy Stewart (Stonewall) 7-3 and the Bohn foursome were 6-4 winners over Kyle Forsyth (Dauphin) in the men’s semifinals.
Thistle’s Team Balshaw and Gimli’s Team Anderson will represent Manitoba at the national Everest Club Championships in late November at Winnipeg’s Assiniboine Memorial Curling Club.
Jennifer Clark-Rouire (Ft Garry) and Kara Balshaw (Thistle) ended the round robin of the Seagram’s Whisky Women’s Club Championship with wins – giving both teams perfect 5W-0L records and first place in their respective pools.
Team JCR beat former champion Loris Pelissier (Thistle) 6-2 while Balshaw was a 9-5 winner over former champ Tracy Andries.
In the semifinals, Sunday at 10AM, Balshaw will play Stacey Irwin’s former champion Brandon team who finished second in their pool with a 4W-1L record.
The Clark-Rouire foursome will play Lisa Dickson (St. Vital) who defeated Tiffany Armstrong (Dauphin) in a late Saturday tiebreaker. The two had both won their final round robin games to finish at 3W-2L and force the tiebreaker.
In the Men’s tiebreaker, Grant Brown (Burntwood) and Kyle Forsyth (Dauphin) both scored a pair of steals but Forsyth scored one more point in a 5-4 tiebreaker win. Forsyth advances to play David Bohn (AMCC) while Andy Stewart (Stonewall) plays Derek Anderson (Gimli) in the semifinals.
Grant Brown and his Thompson team had a modest objective at the Seagram’s Whisky Men’s Curling Club Championship at Fort Rouge this week – play for at least as many hours as the one way drive from Thompson.
They were assured five games so five, 8-end games would do it! Five short games would not!!
They’re into bonus time with a third win today – an afternoon win over Kyle Forsyth (Dauphin). The win left the two teams with a 3W-2L record – and the two teams required to play a tiebreaker for second place.
First in the pool went to the Derek Anderson (Gimli) team who finished 4W-1L with a final round win over Corey Thompson (Der Lodge).
The top two teams in the other pool advance to playoffs with identical 4W-1L records. Andy Stewart (Stonewall) and Devid Bohn (AMCC) both won their final round games. Stewart beat Elmwood’s Brett Walter while Bohn eliminated Randy Neufeld (La Salle).
Bohn will have first place thanks to a round robin win over Stewart.
In the semifinals at 10AM Sunday at Fort Rouge, Bohn will play the Forsyth-Brown winner while Stewart plays Anderson.
Four Men’s teams and four Women’s teams have won their first two games at the Seagram’s Whisky Club Championships at Fort Rouge.
On the women’s side, Brandon’s former 3-time champion Stacey Irwin (Fordyce) beat former champion Lori Pelissier (Thistle) on the Friday early afternoon draw to record a second victory. Team Irwin is joined by Kara Balshaw (Thistle), Tiffany Armstrong (Dauphin), and Jennifer Clark-Rouire (Fort Garry) with two game perfect starts.
In the men’s division, David Bohn’s AMCC team beat former champion Mark Anderson (RIverview) earlier today to hold a 2W-0L record. The Bohn brothers have not competed at a serious level for several years but the quest for a ‘buffalo’ continues. Joining them in the hunt, still unbeaten are Andy Stewart (Stonewall), Derrick Anderson (Gimli), and Kyle Forsyth (Dauphin).
A Thursday evening game at Fort Rouge in the Seagram’s Whisky Men’s Curling Club Championship finished in true club-game style as former Manitoba junior champion Brett Walter elected to play a double kill for the win rather than a draw to force an extra end.
His opponent was Mark Anderson, the Brandon-Riverview skip who is the only former champion skip in the men’s field this week.
Up one coming home, thanks to a steal on end #7, Anderson buried a rock in the back eight foot leaving Walter a choice of draw for one or ‘go-for-it” (see picture). Walter and his Elmwood team elected to try the cross house double – didn’t make it and shook hands.
A loss by Manitoba Masters champion Randy Neufeld, recent winner of a Senior Men’s berth for this year, to Stonewall’s Andy Stewart in tonight’s first round of play in the Seagram’s Whisky Men’s Curling Club Championship exemplifies the “iffy” nature of the club championships event.
Playing with club teams, which by their nature tend to be somewhat less competitive, skips who might normally be favoured often find themselves on the bottom side of the score.
A confounding factor might also be that for the first time many competitors in the event are experiencing three new rules. They are playing the competitive circuit “no-tick” rule (guard touching centre line cannot be moved off the line within the first five rocks), they are playing with time clocks and they are playing with draw to the button to determine last rock.
None of these are foreign concepts to club curlers and curling fans but none of them are played in their regular club games.
For the record, results of the first round of play were: Andy Stewart (Stonewall) 7-3 Randy Neufeld (La Salle) Andrew Irving (Ft Rouge) 7-3 Grant Brown (Burntwood) Kyle Forsyth (Dauphin) 8-2 Corey Thompson (Deer Lodge) David Bohn (AMCC) 7-1 Kyle Csversko (Dauphin) Derrick Anderson (Gimli) 10-5 Ryan Hyde (Portage) Mark Anderson (Riverview) 5-3 Brett Walter (Elmwood)
The men’s teams all play Friday morning at 9AM.
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The Fort Rouge Curling Club and three of its teams are hosting 21 other teams from across Manitoba this week as the Seagram’s Whisky Men’s and Women’s Curling Club Championships become the first provincial championships of the 2023-24 season.
Andrew Irving and Natalie Carrierre and their teams are the host club representatives in the men’s and women’s divisions respectively. Former champion Tracey Andries and her team won a Winnipeg regional berth into the event.
Andries is one of three former Manitoba champion skips in the women’s competition, having won it in 2014, 2016 & 2017. Brandon’s Stacey Fordyce is also a three-time former champion, with wins in 2010, 2013 & 2017. Thistle’s Lori Pelissier skipped the champion team in 2012.
With berths earned last spring, Pelissier and Kara Balshaw will skip teams representing Thistle, the Manitoba curling original seven club which has closed its doors this season.
The rest of the women’s field is made up of Tiffany Armstrong (Dauphin), Tracy Blight (Portage), Lisa Dickson (St. Vital), Jennifer Clark-Rouire (Fort Garry), Kendall Kohinski (Neepawa), Sherri Horning (Burntwood), and Laurie Macdonell (Beausejour).
The 2022 Manitoba Curling Club Provincial Women’s was won by Lisa Birchard (Pembina).
Fordyce and her 2013 & 2017 teams and Andries with her 2016 team join Granite’s Meghan Armit and her 2011 team as Canadian champions in this event.
Riverview Curling Club’s Mark Anderson is the lone former champion skip in the 12-team men’s competition. He skipped the 2017 championship team. Fort Rouge’s Andrew Irving, the 2007 Manitoba Junior champion skip; Brett Walter (Elmwood), 2020 Manitoba Junior champion skip; and Randy Neufeld (La Salle), the reigning Manitoba Masters champion and 3-time Manitoba Seniors champion skip; also all have experience skipping Manitoba teams at Canadian Championships.
The rest of the men’s field includes teams skipped by Derrick Anderson (Gimli), David Bohn (Assiniboine Memorial), Grant Brown (Burntwood), Kyle Csversko (Neepawa), Kyle Forsyth (Dauphin), Ryan Hyde (Portage), Andy Stewart (Stonewall), and Corey Thompson (Deer Lodge).
The 2022 Manitoba Curling Club Provincial Men’s was won by Zacharay Wasylik (Pembina).
Manitoba’s Men’s champions have yet to win the national championship at this level.
The Seagram’s Whisky Curling Club Championships begin Thursday, October 26 with six-games draws at 6PM and 9PM. Competition will continue all day Friday and Saturday. Semi-finals at 10AM and finals at 2:30PM Sunday, October 29 will determine the Manitoba representatives who will compete at the national Everest Club Championships at Assiniboine Memorial in late November.
Randy Neufeld’s defending champions from LaSalle and Joelle Brown’s Charleswood team are a win away from winning (respectively) the Strathcona Trust Senior Men’s and Pharmasave Senior Women’s CurlManitoba Championships.
Neufeld (Dean Moxham, Peter Nicholls, Dale Michie) finished the round robin at 6W-1L and defeated Dave Boehmer-Petersfield in the senior men’s Page 1-1 playoff game to advance to the Monday afternoon final. Boehmer had also won his pool with a 6W-1L record.
Boehmer will play Richard Muntain-Granite in the Monday morning semi-final after Muntain survived the Page 2-2 game with a 7-6 stolen extra end win over Allan Gitzel-Altona.
In the senior women’s competition Brown (Maureen Bonar, Natalie Claude-Harding, Deb McCreanor, 5th Allyson Bell) finished with a 6W-1L record, tied with defending champion Terry Ursel-Neepawa. Brown had beaten Ursel in their round robin match so Brown’s Charleswood team earns the bye to the Monday afternoon final. Ursel will play Norma Purdy-St. Vital in the semi-final. Purdy and former champion Kim Link-East St. Paul were tied at 4W-3L but Purdy earned the playoff spot thanks to a round robin win over Link.
(Friday, March 24, 11PM) DEFENDING CHAMPS AMONG TWO UNBEATEN TEAMS IN MANITOBA SENIOR WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP Defending Champion Terry Ursel and her Neepawa team are one of two teams with 4W-0L records in the Manitoba Senior Women’s Championship in Dauphin. Team Ursel is tied in first place with Joelle Brown and her Charleswood team. Former champion Kim Link (East St. Paul) is in second place with a 3W-1L record with three games yet to play in the round robin.
(Friday, March 24, 10:30PM) DEFENDING CHAMPS AMONG THREE UNBEATEN TEAMS IN MANITOBA SENIOR MEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP Randy Neufeld’s LaSalle team is one of three unbeaten teams after four games have been played in the Manitoba Senior Men’s Championship in Dauphin. Team Neufeld along with former champion Dave Boehmer (Petersfield) and Richard Muntain (Granite) lead the way .
Boehmer is alone in first place in his pool, with Allan Gitzel (Altona) Neil Okumura (Pembina), and Butch Mouck (Gilbert Plains) in second place at 3W-1L.
Behind Neufeld and Muntain in their pool is Mike Mahon (Grante) at 3W-1L.
(Wednesday, March 22, 9AM)DEFENDING CHAMPS HEAD THE ENTRY LIST FOR MANITOBA SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS Defending champion Randy Neufeld and his LaSalle team, three of whom won the recent Manitoba Masters Men’s Championship, and defending champion Terry Ursel’s Neepawa team will attempt to repeat as CurlManitoba’s Senior Curling Champions this week at the Dauphin Curling Club.
In the Strathcona Trust Senior Men’s, the last eight champion teams are all represented in the competition. Randy Neufeld’s two-time defending champions, who also won the 2015 and 2016 titles, return with the same lineup (Dean Moxham, Peter Nicholls, Dale Michie).
Two members of Petersfield’s Dave Boehmer three-time champion team (2020, 2019, 2018) will challenge Team Neufeld along with the 2017 champion Murray Warren Brandon team.
In addition to the Warren team, the other two playoff teams from the recent Manitoba Masters Championship, finalist Mike Mahon (Granite) and Allan Gitzel, are set to challenge Team Neufeld again at the Senior Men’s in Dauphin.
The sixteen Senior Men’s teams will play a seven game round robin, in two groups of eight teams, followed by a page playoff. The final game will be played Monday, March 27 at 1:00pm.
In the Pharmasave Senior Women’s, defending champions Terry Ursel, Wanda Rainka and Tracy Igonia have won three of the last four titles (2022, 2020, 2019) are joined this year by Nadine Ralph (with alternate Chris Hamblin and coach Lorne Hamblin).
The eight team field includes East St. Paul’s Kim Link, also a three-time Senior Women’s champion (2021, 2018, 2015), and Sandra Cowling whose Hamiota team won the 2016 Senior Women’s title along with the 2019 and 2020 Masters Women’s titles.
Laurie Deprez, who skipped a LaSalle team to the recent Masters Women’s championship, won the 2013 Senior Women’s title. Her 2023 Masters champion teammates will all be in Dauphin – Deb McCreanor with Charleswood’s Joelle Brown, Lori Pelissier with St. Vital’s Norma Purdy, and Bev Atkins with Team Deprez.
The eight Senior Women’s teams will pay a seven game round robin followed by a three team playoff. The final game will also be played Monday, March 27th at 1:00pm.
Play in the joint Strathcona Senior Men’s and Pharmasave Senior Women’s Championships will get underway at the Dauphin Curling Club on Thursday, March 23rd at 8:30am.
Randy Neufeld and his LaSalle team (Peter Nicholls, Darren Oryniak, Dale Michie) have won CurlManitoba’s Manitoba’s Credit Unions Masters Men’s championship with a 4-3 win over Mike Mahon and his Granite CC team.
The win for the LaSalle team mirrors the accomplishment of Laurie Deprez and her LaSalle team who won the Masters Women’s championship Sunday. It is the first time in the Manitoba’s Credit Unions sponsorship years that the two championships have been won by teams from the same club.
Randy Neufeld, Peter Nicholls, Darren Oryniak, Dale Michie
The Neufeld foursome was the top seed coming into the event and will have a chance to win a second Manitoba title in two weeks time when they compete as the defending champion in CurlManitoba’s Strathcona Seniors in Dauphin (with Dean Moxham replacing Oryniak).
The championship gives Nicholls, who won the 1994 Labatt Tankard in Thompson with Dave Smith, his seventh Manitoba “buffalo” championship crest as he also won the 2018 Manitoba Mixed to go with four Manitoba Senior Men’s.
Neufeld, Nicholls and Michie won the 2015, 2016, 2021, and 2022 Manitoba Senior Men’s titles. Michie also won the Manitoba Mixed in 2001. Oryniak is also a former Manitoba champion, having won the 2013 Manitoba Senior Men’s championship.
Randy Neufeld and his team had reached the final undefeated in the seven game round robin, to finish atop the Asham pool, and with a 7-5 victory over Team Mahon in the Page 1 vs 1 playoff game.
Mike Mahon (Bill Menzies, Blair Smith, Larry Borus) posted a 6W-1L record in round robin play to top the Asham Express pool. They had eliminated defending champion Murray Warren (Brandon) in the Monday morning semi-final when they won a last end measure and a steal to win 4-2. The Warren team had beaten Allan Gitzel (Miami) 6-4 in the Saturday evening Page 3 vs game.
Gord Mackay (Pembina) and Ray Baker (Dauphin) had also advanced past the round-robin stage but were eliminated in the first round of playoffs by Gitzel and Warren respectively.
(Sunday, March 12) PLAYOFFS SET IN MANITOBA MASTERS MEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP IN THOMPSON Randy Neufeld’s LaSalle team have completed an undefeated run through the round-robin portion of the CurlManitoba Master’s Men’s Championship. The Neufeld team beat Jim Renwick (Brandon) 8-6 Saturday afternoon thanks to a big five-ender on the sixth end.
Trailing 6-4 at the time, Neufeld made a last rock triple kill for the five and a one-point lead enroute to the victory.
Ray Baker’s Dauphin team finished 5W-2L with a final game win over Butch Mouck (Minnedosa) and Gord MacKay’s Pembina team also finished 5W-2L with a final game win over Neil Schmidt (East St. Paul). Baker is awarded second place in the pool thanks to his round-robin win over MacKay.
In the other pool, Mike Mahon (Granite) defeated Allan Gitzel (Miami) on the morning draw to earn first place at 6W-1L while Gitzel dropped to 5W-2L and second place. Defending champion Murray Warren (Brandon) defeated Dale Brooks (Hamiota), giving both a 4W-3L record but Warren gets third spot in the standings thanks to the win.
Mahon and Neufeld advance to the Page 1-1 playoff game on Sunday evening. Baker will play Warren and MacKay will play Gitzel at 4PM Sunday with the winners advancing to the Sunday evening Page 2-2 game.
(Sunday, March 12, 2PM)DEPREZ WINS MANITOBA MASTERS WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP IN THOMPSON Laurie Deprez and her LaSalle team have won the Manitoba’s Credit Unions 2023 Masters Women’s Championship. Deprez, Deb McCreanor, Lori Pelissier, and Bev Atkins defeated Sandra Cowling’s Hamiota team 5-3 in the Sunday morning final in Thompson.
The Deprez foursome completed the championship with five wins and a loss. Their loss came in the round robin to Team Cowling who were unbeaten with four wins in the five-team round robin. The perfect record gave the Hamiota team a bye to the Sunday morning final.
In the Saturday afternoon semi-final, Team Deprez had an 8-7 win over defending champion Judy Colwell and her East St. Paul team.
A stolen two on the fifth end gave Deprez a 4-3 lead and another stolen single on the seventh, when Cowling rolled out facing two, gave the champions a 5-3 lead coming home.
The seventh steal was set up by a pick on Cowling’s first rock hit attempt on the only stone in the rings. The miss allowed Deprez to put a second stone in the rings. Cowling rolled out on her second hit to give up the steal.
Cowling, playing in their fourth consecutive final, ran out of stones coming home.
For Deprez and Atkins, it is a second Manitoba championship. Deprez skipped the 2012 Manitoba Senior Women’s champion team while Atkins played second on the 1984 Manitoba Mixed Champion team.
For McCreanor, it is a third Manitoba title. She previously skipped the Manitoba Club champions teams in 2018 & 2021.
For Pelissier, it is a fourth Manitoba championship. She was the second on Mixed champion teams in 1995 and 2000 as well as skipping the 2012 Club champions.
(Saturday, March 11)NEUFELD, COWLING LAST UNBEATEN TEAMS AT MANITOBA MASTERS IN THOMPSON Randy Neufeld (LaSalle), with five straight wins, and Sandra Cowling (Hamiota), with four wins, are the last two unbeaten teams in CurlManitoba’s Manitoba’s Credit Unions Masters Championships.
The last two unbeaten teams in both divisions met on the early draws Saturday at Thompson’s Burntwood Curling Club.
Cowling, whose team played as a wildcard Manitoba entry in last fall’s Canadian Masters Championship at the Pembina Curling Club, was last year’s finalist in this championship. The Saturday morning win over Laurie Deprez (LaSalle) earned the Hamiota team a return trip to the provincial final game.
The final game opponent, Sunday morning at 9AM, will be the winner of a semi-final game between Deprez and defending champion Judy Colwell (East St. Paul). Colwell finished the round-robin with only one win in four starts but came out on top of a three way tiebreaker with the other two teams.
In the Masters Men’s, Randy Neufeld’s foursome took on Ray Baker (Dauphin). A first end three, and a 5-1 lead after four ends, led to seven end victory for La Salle team which includes three members of the reigning Manitoba Senior Men’s champion team.
In their pool, Neufeld (5W-0L) and Baker (4W-1L) lead the way. Gord MacKay (Pembina) and Butch Mouck (Minnedosa) are both still very much in the chase for the third playoff spot at 3W-2L. With a record of 2W-3L, Jim Renwick (Brandon) still has an outside chance of making the playoffs.
In the other pool, Dale Brooks (Hamiota), Allan Gitzel (Miami), and Mike Mahon (Granite) lead the way with 4W-1L records. Defending champion Murray Warren (Brandon) has a 3W-2L record and Gerry Haight (Brandon) with a 2W-3L record can still make the playoffs.
Colton & Kadriana Lott (Winnipeg Beach) have won the 2023 CurlManitoba Dynasty Mixed Doubles Curling Championship. The couple, who had previously won the Manitoba Mixed Doubles title in 2018, defeated Lisa McLeod & Lyall Hudson (Pembina) Monday afternoon at St. Vital Curling Club to complete an undefeated run thorough the championship.
Kadriana & Colton Lott with Dynasty rep Aaron Tycoles
For Colton Lott, this year’s second Mixed Doubles victory is a second provincial championship of the season and his sixth lifetime Manitoba curling title. He won the 2023 Viterra Men’s Championship at second for the Matt Dunstone team and previously won Manitoba Junior Men’s titles in 2012, 2013, and 2016. For Kadriana Lott (as Sahaidak) the only previous championship was the 2018 Mixed Doubles.
After opening the games with single steals in each of the first two ends, Colton Lott’s big weight hit ability paid dividends with a slash double to remove a buried McLeod-Hudson shot stone. McLeod’s draw was behind the button and Kadriana’s last shot draw was good enough for a single point. They stole two deuces in the next two ends.
Trailing 5-2 after five ends, McLeod-Hudson used their power play on the sixth. It worked to produce a two to pull them within one point. Lott-Lott used their power play on the seventh and ended the game when they were able to put a five on the scoreboard.
Lott-Lott were unbeaten “A” qualifiers to advance to the playoffs and were riding a five game winning streak going into the final game. McLeod-Hudson had reached the final as “C” qualifiers with five wins in their first seven games.
In the Sunday afternoon semi-finals, McLeod-Hudson defeated Thomas Dunlop & Katie McKenzie (Stonewall) while Lott-Lott ousted Mikaylah & William Lyburn (Granite).
The four playoff qualifiers who were eliminated in the first round Sunday were Sarah-Jane Sass & Lucas Van Den Bosch (Granite), Stacey & Steve Irwin (Brandon), Lauren Rajala & Cyrus Brandt (St. Vital), and Janelle Lach & Corey Chambers (Fort Garry).
A total of 20 teams participated in the triple knock-out championship attempting to advance to the Canadian Mixed Doubles Championship in Sudbury, ON in lat March.
Teams from St. Vital and Springfield took home the trophies in the Manitoba Stick Curling Association’s 2023 championships in Morris.
Warren Johnson & Dan McDonald (St. Vital) and Lorna Marr & Val Kolsun (Springfield) with their trophies and the CurlManitoba champions jackets.
St. Vital’s Warren Johnson and Dan McDonald, regulars at MSCA events and club bonspiels, lost one game in round-robin play, finished first in their group, and won three in a row on championship Sunday to win their first championship. For McDonald, it was a first-ever. Johnson has won twice previously, with Brad Childe in 2017 and with Earl Stephenson in 2012.
The final game against Darren MacMillan & Terry Proctor (Marquette) in the SunLife Financial MSCA Open Championship presented by Jim Anton went right to the last shot.
Tied 1-1 after four ends, Johnson & McDonald had stolen two on the fifth to lead 3-1 coming home. Laying one in the four foot, Proctor played a lightweight tap shot on a pocket of three stones in the back four foot but got the worst possible angle on them, touching all three and rolling forward across the teeline and out of the four foot circle to score only one.
In the semifinals, Johnson-McDonald defeated Herb Sulkers & Harold Peterson (East St. Paul) and MacMillan-Proctor beat Larry Weatherburn & Rick Willetts (Eriksdale).
The four teams eliminated in the first round of playoffs were Charlie McCullough & Wayne Johnston (Carman), Don Fischer & Grant Nicolson (St. Vital), Bill Reid & Ed Thompson (Wildewood at Thistle), and Norm Magusson & Resby Coutts (Fort Rouge).
McCullough & Johnston were the only undefeated team in the event. Sulkers & Peterson and Willetts & Weatherburn advanced to the playoff round through a tiebreaker. They had been tied after round-robin play with Jim Rouse & Ross MacMillan (Warren/Marquette) but survived the tiebreaker.
A total of 24 teams participated in the SunLife Financial Open Championship presented by Jim Anton.
Lorna Marr & Val Kolsun (Springfield) defeated 2020 champions Gwen Smith and Lynne Rehbein (St. Vital) to win the 7-team 2023 MSCA Women’s Championship. Down 3-2 coming home, Marr-Kolsun scored a single point to force an extra end then won the game with a steal in the extra when a last shot draw to the four foot circle slid a little too deep.
At the end of round-robin play, Marr & Kolsun, Smith & Rehbein, and Irene Tully & Marilyn Campbell (Marquette) had been tied with 4 win – 2 loss records. Marr & Kolsun won the tiebreaker and the bye to the final. Smith & Rehbein eliminated Tully & Campbell in the semi-final.
MSCA President Britta Spiring and SunLife’s Jim Anton present the crests and trophy to Lorna Marr & Val Kolsun (Springfield)MSCA President Britta Spiring and SunLife’s Jim Anton present the crests and trophy to Warren Johnson & Dan McDonald (St. Vital)
(Sunday, February 19, 1:30PM) FINALS SET IN STICK CHAMPIONSHIPS Warren Johnson & Dan McDonald (St. Vital) will play Darren MacMillan & Terry Proctor (Marquette) in the final game of the SunLife Financial Manitoba Stick Open Championship presented by Jim Anton. The game is set for 2 PM in Morris.
MacMillan-Proctor defeated Larry Weatherburn & Rick Willets (Eriksdale) in the semifinal. Proctor, tied coming home and facing three, half tucked a draw behind a counter in the top of the rings and marked up the 2-1 win when Willets rubbed his own stone.
Johnson & McDonald gave up a three on the opening end , came back with three of their own on the second and led Herb Silkers & Harold Peterson (East St. Paul) 6-4 coming home. Sulkers faced a difficult tap back of a counter on the button for two with his last stone. He rubbed the target stone but left a steal of one for a 7-4 win.
In the Women’s final, Lorna Marr & Val Kolsun (Springfield) will play former champions Gwen Smith & Lynne Rehbein (St. Vital) . Smith-Rehbein were 5-2 winners over Irene Tully & Marilyn Campbell (Marquette) in the morning semi-final.
(Saturday, February 19, 10PM) MCCULLOUGH-JOHNSTON LONE UNBEATEN TEAM, PLAYOFFS SET IN STICK CHAMPIONSHIPS Carman’s Charlie McCullough and Wayne Johnston are the only team to reach the playoffs of the two Manitoba 2-person Stick Championships undefeated. In a game for first place in Pool D, McCullough-Johnston defeated Norm Magnusson & Resby Coutts (Ft. Rouge) on the Saturday evening draw. Both teams will advance to the Sunday playoff round.
(l-r) Charlie McCullough, Norm Magnusson, Wayne Johnston, Resby Coutts
In Pool A of the SunLife Open Championship presented by Jim Anton, Grant Nicolson & Don Fischer (St. Vital) finished first with a 4W-1L record. Bill Reid & Ed Thompson (Wildewood at Thistle), with a 3W-2L record, also advance to the playoffs.
In Pool B, Warren Johnson & Dan McDonald (St. Vital) and Darren MacMillan & Terry Proctor (Marquette), with 3W-1L records, both advance to the playoff round.
A three team tiebreaker was required in Pool C. Of the three teams with 4W-1L records, the tiebreak win went to Herb Sulkers & Harold Peterson (East St. Paul) and Rick Willets & Larry Weatherburn (Eriksdale).
The eight teams will play a single knock-out playoff on Sunday beginning at 11AM in Morris.
A three-team tiebreaker was also required in the Women’s championship – to determine the first place bye to the final in the three team playoff. Lorna Marr & Val Kolsun (Springfield), 2020 champions Lynne Rehbein & Gwen Smith (St. Vital) AND Irene Tully & Marilyn Campbell (Marquette) all finished with 4W-2L records. Lorna Marr & Val Kolsun earned the bye to the final.
(Friday, February 18, 9PM)THREE TEAMS UNBEATEN IN MANITOBA STICK CHAMPIONSHIPS Three of 23 teams have unbeaten records as play began Saturday at 3PM in the SunLife Financial Manitoba 2-Person Stick Open Championship presented by Jim Anton in Morris.
In Pool C, former Canadian Champions Jim Rouse & Ross MacMillan have a 3W-0L record with two games to play. Two teams trail them with 2W-1L records.
In Pool D, Charlie McCullough and Wayne Johnston (Carman) and Norm Magnusson & Resby Coutts (Fort Rouge) share the lead with 3W-0L records. They will meet in their final round robin game Saturday evening.
In Pool A, Grant Nicolson & Don Fischer (St. Vital) lead the way with a 3W-1L record. Four teams have 2W-2L records in this group.
Pool D play has been complicated by a team withdrawal due to injury. This group is now five teams and is led by Warren Johnson & Dan McDonald (St. Vital) with a 3W-1L record. Darren MacMillan & Ross Proctor (Marquette) have a 2W-1L record in that group.
Two teams from each pool will advance to the playoffs.
In the Women’s Championship, Lorna Marr & Val Kolsun (Springfield) lead the way with a 4W-1L record and a game to play. 2020 champions Lynne Rehbein & Gwen Smith (St. Vital) AND Irene Tully & Marilyn Campbell (Marquette) have 3W-1L records and two games to play.
(Friday, February 17, 9PM) 2-PERSON STICK CURLING CHAMPIONSHIPS IN MORRIS THIS WEEKEND Two different forms of 2-person curling are on display in championships underway this weekend. At St. Vital, CurlManitoba’s Dynasty Mixed Doubles Championship has attracted 20 teams, most of them from the younger curling demographic. In a triple elimination event, the teams will play down to eight teams in the knockout playoff round on Monday.
A somewhat older demographic is demonstrating the skills involved in the 2-person stick game in Morris in the Manitoba Stick Curling Association’s SunLife Financial Open Championship presented by Jim Anton, as well as in the Association’s Women’s Championship. The seven-team Women’s event is being played in one pool so each team will play six games. Irene Tully & Marilyn Campbell (Marquette) won their only two games on opening day while Darlene Maywood & Melanie Shura (St. Vital) AND Lorna Marr & Val Kolsun (Springfield) also won a pair (but also had a loss). The top three teams will advance to Sunday playoffs.
In the SunLife Financial Manitoba Open Stick Championship presented by Jim Anton, 24 teams are competing in four pools. Six teams won their first two games on Friday.
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