Category Archives: Senior Curling Championships

NEUFELD, BROWN TEAMS A WIN AWAY FROM MANITOBA SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS

Posted on by
Reply

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.

SCINOCCA WINS NEIL ANDREWS SENIOR SPIEL IN BRANDON

Posted on by
Reply

Paul Scinocca’s Charleswood team (Ed Barr, Paul Armstrong, Joel Newbury) has won Brandon’s Neil Andrews Classic, a senior men’s bonspiel which serves to identify the final qualifier for the Strathcona Senior Men’s provincial championship.

(l-r) Corey Lawson presenting to Joel Newbury, Paul Armstrong, Ed Barr, and Paul Scinocca

As well as identifying the final provincial qualifier, the bonspiel serves as a competition event for teams already qualified for the provincials in Dauphin in late March.

Scinocca beat Mark Anderson (Brandon) in the championship final by a 10-3 score Sunday after advancing to the final game with a 5-3 victory over reigning Manitoba Masters champions Murray Warren and his Brandon team in the semi-final. As Scinocca had previously qualified for the provincial seniors, Anderson earns the final berth.

In the other semi-final, Anderson had defeated a team skipped by Butch Mouck, who had also previously qualified, also in a tight game – by a 5-4 score.

In effect, Anderson earned the provincial berth when his team reached the final four, as the other three teams had also qualified to complete in Dauphin.

COMPLETE LISTING OF TEAMS QUALIFIED TO COMPETE IN DAUPHIN:
Sam Antila – Thompson
Kevin Paramor – Arden
Murray Warren – Brandon
Rob Van Kommer – Carberry
Butch Mouck – Gilbert Plains
Allan Gitzel – Altona
Dave Boehmer – Petersfield
Lawrie Hogg – Stonewall
Mike Mahon – Granite
Richard Muntain – Granite
Cory Anderson – Thistle
Neil Okumura – Pembina
Dean North – Carman
Paul Scinocca – Charleswood
Randy Neufeld – La Salle
Mark ANdersin – Brandon

WARREN, NEUFELD TEAMS HEAD ENTRY LIST FOR SENIORS & MASTERS CHAMPIONSHIPS

Posted on by
Reply

(CurlManitoba Release) Murray Warren’s Brandon team and Randy Neufeld’s La Salle team, reigning Manitoba’s Credit Unions Masters Men’s and Strathcona Trust Senior Men’s champions respectively, will play in both Manitoba championship events this season.

With last year’s Manitoba title, both earned the champion’s invitation to compete again this year. Both teams have also won qualifying berths to compete in the second event this season and will attempt to win these two titles – a feat which has never before been accomplished in the same year. 

The teams captured the Canadian bronze medals in their attempts to win their national titles in recent weeks. Team Neufeld had an 11W-1L record at the Everest Canadian Seniors last week in Yarmouth Nova Scotia. Team Warren compiled a 9W-3L record at the Canadian Masters at Pembina in November.

The Warren team (brothers Murray, Terry, Reg Warren, Brian Barker & alternate Gary Barker) will play intact in the two events while the Neufeld team has one change. Neufeld’s Senior Men’s line-up (Photo: Curling Canada/Clifton Saulnier) includes Dean Moxham, Peter Nicholls and Dale Michie while his Masters berth winning team has Darren Oryniak replacing Moxham.

Four other skips will also attempt to win both championships. Butch Mouck – Minnedosa, Allan Gitzel – Altona & Miami, Mike Mahon – Granite, and Sam Antila – Burntwood (Thompson) are those four skips although, like Neufeld, none of them will play the two events with the same teams.

Regional playoffs to qualify for the provincial championships in both Senior and Masters Men’s wrapped up Wednesday, December 13. In the Masters competition, 25 teams entered regional playoffs across the province to earn 13 playoff berths while 24 teams entered Senior regionals to earn 11 playoff berths.

The parallel Masters and Senior Women’s championships are both played in open-entry formats. The entry deadline for the Senior Women’s event is February 23 while the deadline for entering the Masters Women’s is January 26.

The Manitoba’s Credit Unions Masters Men’s & Women’s Championship will be played in Thompson, March 8-13, 2023. The Strathcona Trust Senior Men’s and CurlManitoba Senior Women’s Championships will be played in Dauphin, March 22-27, 2023.

With Brandon Bonspiel berths yet to be awarded in both Senior Men’s and Masters Men’s Championships, the teams competing will be:

STRATHCONA TRUST SENIOR MEN’S
Randy Neufeld – La Salle (Champion’s Berth)
Dean North – Carman (Morden Bonspiel)
Paul Scinocca – Charleswood (Granite Bonspiel)
Richard Muntain – Granite (Regional Berth)
Mike Mahon – Granite (Regional Berth)
Cory Anderson – Thistle (Regional Berth)
Neil Okumura – Pembina (Regional Berth)
Dave Boehmer – Petersfield (Regional Berth)
Lawrie Hogg – Stonewall (Regional Berth)
Allan Gitzel – Altona (Regional Berth)
Kevin Paramor – Arden/Lansdowne (Regional Berth)
Butch Mouck – Minnedosa (Regional Berth)
Brad Edwards – Carberry (Regional Berth)
Murray Warren – Brandon (Regional Berth)
Sam Antila – Burntwood (Regional Berth)
TBD – Brandon Bonspiel Berth Winner

MANITOBA’S CREDIT UNIONS MASTERS MEN’S
Murray Warren – Brandon (Champion’s Berth)
Randy Neufeld – La Salle (Fort Rouge Bonspiel)
Joe Fouasse – Fort Garry (Regional Berth)
John Norget – Pembina (Regional Berth)
Mike Mahon – Granite (Regional Berth)
Allan Gitzel – Miami (Regional Berth)
Neil Schmidt – East St. Paul (Regional Berth)
Len Loewen – Riverton (Regional Berth)
Butch Mouck – Minnedosa (Regional Berth)
Lawrence Daniel – Hamiota (Regional Berth)
Dale Brooks – Hamiota (Regional Berth)
Ray Baker – Dauphin (Regional Berth)
Jim Renwick – Brandon (Regional Berth)
Gerry Haight – Brandon (Regional Berth)
Sam Antila – Burntwood (Regional Berth)
TBD – Brandon Bonspiel Berth Winner

11W-1L AND SENIOR MEN’S BRONZE MEDAL FOR MANITOBANS

Posted on by
Reply

(December 10, 2022: 7PM) Disappointment for Randy Neufeld’s Team Manitoba as they lost their semi-final game at the Everest Canadian Senior Men’s Championship, giving up a two coming home to lose 4-3 to Alberta. They bounced back in the Bronze Medal game, scoring a three and a four in the first two ends enroute to a 10-7 victory over Nova Scotia.

In the Gold Medal game, Ontario defeated the Albertans, 7-6.

In the Senior Women’s, Saskatchewan’s Sherry Anderson won the semi-final (7-4 over Nova Scotia) and the final (7-3 over Quebec). It was the fifth consecutive Canadian Senior Women’s title for Anderson’s Saskatchewan team.

(December 9 , 2022: 11PM) 10W-0L MANITOBAN’S ADVANCE TO PLAYOFFS … Repeat headline – TWO MORE WINS: NEUFELD STILL PERFECT – as Randy Neufeld and his Manitobans (Dean Moxham, Peter Nicholls, Dale Michie) wrapped up the championship qualifying round with two more wins. On the early draw they beat BC 7-3 and then, with first place on the line, they defeated Nova Scotia.

Seeded first in playoffs, Team Neufeld will play Alberta’s Pahl team on the early morning draw Saturday – hoping to advance to the gold medal game at 12:30 (10:30 CST). Nova Scotia will play Ontario in the other semi-final.

In the Women’s championship, Nova Scotia earned the #1 seed with a 9W-1L record and they`ll play Saskatchewan (7W-3L). Quebec (also 9W-1L) will play Ontario (also 7W-3L) in the second semi-final.

(December 8, 2022: 9PM) TWO MORE WINS; NEUFELD STILL PERFECT … Thursday started slow for Randy Neufeld’s Team Manitoba with Howard Rajala’s Ontario team scoring three consecutive singles to start their first game of the day. Neufeld scored a three on the fourth end to tie and went on to a 7-4 win.

A 10-3 victory over Quebec followed on the late draw and and the Manitobans had improved to a perfect 8W-0L. They are now guaranteed a spot in the final four playoffs.

At 8W-0L, Neufeld’s La Salle team leads the way – ahead of Nova Scotia (7W-1L), Ontario (6W-2L), and both Alberta and Saskatchewan who are tied at 5W-3L. They wrap the championship round on Friday with games against BC’s Wes Craig (4W-4L) and Glen MacLeod’s Nova Scotians.

Even with two losses, a worst case scenario, Manitoba will finish 8W-2L and no worse than second place seeding going into the semi-finals.

(December 7, 2022: 8PM) NEUFELD UNDEFEATED INTO CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND … Randy Neufeld’s LaSalle team (Dean Moxham, Peter Nicholls, Dale Michie) haver completed the preliminary round of play at the Everest Canadian Senior Championships with a perfect 6W-1L record. The Manitobans now advance to the second round, the championship round.

Right behind the Neufeld team in the standings are Howard Rajala (Ontario) and Glen MacLeod (Nova Scotia) with 5W-1L records. The two teams both advanced from the other pool so Neufeld must yet play both. Their game with Rajala opens the championship round on the morning draw Thursday while they’ll finish on Friday afternoon against MacLeod.

Their other two games will be against British Columbia and Quebec. The top four teams overall advance to the playoffs.

In the women’s championship, Saskatchewan’s Sherry Anderson team is the lone unbeaten team as they continue a quest to win a fifth consecutive title. After opening with split of their first two games Manitoba’s Terry Ursel has lost four in a row and finished the preliminary round with a 1W-5L record.

(December 5, 2022) CANADIAN SENIORS UNDERWAY … Manitoba’s Terry Ursel and Randy Neufeld teams have begun their quest for the national Senior championships. Neufeld and his team opened play with a win over Alberta’s James Pahl while Ursel’s first game was a loss to Ontario’s JoAnne Rizzo.

Both teams won their second games. Neufeld defeated Keith Ryan (Nfld/Labrador) while Ursel defeated Sandy Comeau (New Brunswick). The teams play in two pools of seven for a six-game preliminary round. The top four teams will advance to a second championship round for four more games against teams crossing over from the other pool. Four teams then advance to a knockout playoff.

Neufeld (Dean Moxham, Peter Nicholls, Dale Michie) won gold and silver in back to back years in 2015 & 2016 along with a world seniors silver medal in their Canadian championship year. Former Brier & world champion Al Hackner, fresh off his Masters victory at Pembina a couple of weeks ago, won the 2006 Canadian Seniors – the only other former champion skip in the field.

Ursel (Wanda Rainka, Brenda Walker, Tracy Igonia, Alternate Chris Hamblin, Coach Lorne Hamblin) reached the bronze medal game in 2019. The favorite is no doubt Saskatchewan Sherry Anderson, attempting to win a fifth consecutive title. Alberta’s Diane Foster won the Canadian and world titles in 2008.

Photos: Curling Canada/Malcolm Seaboyer

LAST ROUND LOSS LEAVES TEAM LINK OUT OF PLAYOFFS

Featured

Posted on by
Reply

Sherry Anderson (SK) and Mary Anne Arsenault (BC) with 8W-2L records tied atop the standings going forward to the women’s playoff round at the Everest Canadian Seniors in Ottawa. Nova Scotia’s Theresa Breen, with a last round win over Manitoba’s Kim Link, finished with a7W-3L record, also in the playoffs.

Link and her East St. Paul team finish at 6W-4L record as a result of the last round loss. They finished tied with Cheryl Bernard (AB) but Bernard has been awarded the fourth playoff spot based upon a round-robin loss by Link to Bernard.

In the men’s event, Randy Neufeld’s La Salle finished with a victory and an overall 5-4 record in the ‘seeding pool’ featuring the six teams which did not advance to the championship round.

TEAM LINK
Photo: Curling Canada/Roy Iachetta

(9AM: December 10) TEAM LINK STILL IN CONTENTION AT CANADIAN SENIOR WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP ..Thursday was a day of missed opportunity for Manitoba’s Team Link at the Everest Canadian Seniors. The bad news was that they split their two games, going into the final day of play with a 5W-3L record and two games to play.

The good news was that Team Link do not lose ground to the leaders.

It will be and exciting final day for fans in Ottawa as seven teams have with 6W-2L OR 5W-3L records. Sherry Anderson (SK), Sherry Middaugh (ON), Mary Anne Arsenault (BC) and Theresa Breen (NS) share the lead at (6W-2L). Link, Chery Bernard (AB) and Isabelle Neron (PQ) are all at 5W-3L.

At 3W-5L, Yukon’s Rhonda Horte is the only team which cannot still win the championship.

For those seven leading teams, all play two games today and all are MUST WINs. Manitoba plays Ontario at 1pm and Nova Scotia at 6pm.

In the Men’s Division, Randy Neufeld’s foursome had a good Thursday – winning two games. At 4W-4L, they moved into a tie at the top of the seeding pool. (A Friday morning win over Nunavut has improved their record to 5W-4L)

(December 9) TEAM LINK ADVANCES TO CANADIAN SENIOR WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND … Kim Link and her East St. Paul team have lost a pair of games on the final day of round robin play but their 4W-2L record has them in contention as they advance to the championship round.

Quebec’s Isabelle Neron sits atop the pool with a 5W-1L record. Team Link shares second place in the pool with BC’s Mary Anne Arsenault and Saskatchewan’s Sherry Anderson – all at 4W-2L.

The four teams will now play the top four from the other pool with their total 10 game record determining payoff positions. The good news for Team Link and the other 4W-2L teams is that they are only a game behind the leaders. There were no undefeated teams in Pool B.

Sherry Middaugh (Ontario) and Theresa Breen (Nova Scotia) are both at 5W-1L. Alberta’s Cheryl Bernard is at 4W-2L while Rhonda Horte (Yukon) has a 3W-3L record.

TEAM NEUFELD
Photo: Curling Canada/Roy Iachetta

The Manitobans play Alberta and Yukon on Thursday. Two wins would be an important step to the playoffs as they must play the two teams from the other pool, Ontario and Nova Scotia, on the final day.

Meanwhile, Randy Neufeld and his La Salle team will miss the championship round. With a pair of losses today, their 2W-4L record means they drop in the ‘ranking round’ for their last three games.

(December 7) LINK STILL LEADS CANADIAN SENIORS WITH 4W-OL RECORD .. Kim Link and Randy Neufeld and their Manitoba teams begin the final day of round-robin play with identical schedules but in much different places in their pool standings.

Link’s East St. Paul team has a perfect 4W-0L record while Neufeld’s La Salle foursome is at 2W-2L. Both will play later Wednesday, with games at 3PM and 7PM to complete their first round.

The women will play Quebec (currently 3W-1L) and Saskatchewan (currently 2W-2L) while the men take on Newfoundland-Labrador (2W-2L) and Saskatchewan (3W-1L).

The top four in each group advance tot he next round of championship play.

(December 7) LINK LEADS CANADIAN SENIORS WITH 3W-OL RECORD .. The Everest Canadian Seniors is underway in Ottawa with Manitoba represented by Kim Link (East St. Paul) and Randy Neufeld (La Salle).

With a comeback win Tuesday over BC’s Mary Anne Arsenault, Team Link has moved to the top of their seven team pool with a 3W-0L record. The Manitobans scored three on the 7th end and stole the home end for a 6-5 win over BC. Arsenault, Sherry Anderson (SK) and Quebec’s Isabelle Neron are all at 2W-1L.

Meanwhile Neufeld has had a tough start with one win in the team’s first three games. The losses have come at the hands of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick while the victory was over Northwest Territories.

The top four in each pool advance to the Championship Pool for games against teams from the other pool, while the remaining teams go to the Seeding Pool. At the conclusion of the Championship Pool on Friday, Dec. 10, the semifinals will be held Saturday, Dec. 11, at 10:30 a.m., pairing 1 vs. 4 and 2 vs. 3. The winners then advance to their respective gold-medal final while the losers will play for bronze. The medal games are set for 3:30 p.m.