SASKATOON -- Three teams from Saskatchewan are into the playoff round at the Canadian U18 Mens’ and Women’s Curling Championship in Saskatoon.
Esterhazy’s Brandon Weiss and Moose Jaw’s Dayne Heisler both qualified in the men’s draw, while Saskatoon’s Renee Wood also landed a playoff berth in the women’s draw. Moose Jaw’s Kaylee Hogeboom missed out on a spot by a single win.
Weiss and his provincial champion foursome of Josh Lussier, second Carter Nelson, lead Elijah Chomos and alternate Tyler Derksen reeled off their fourth-straight win on Friday morning, taking a 16-3 victory over Northwest Territories’ Jasper Willkomm. That was good enough for a 4-2 record and the eighth playoff seed.
Heisler and his rink of third Blake Montgomery, second Riley Cushway and lead Laine Burnham found themselves in a must-win situation on Friday morning and got the job done, defeating Nova Scotia’s Elex Lockhart 4-2. As a result, Heisler finished 3-3 and had the tiebreaker go his way to take the ninth playoff spot.
As luck would have it, Weiss and Heisler will now face off in the first round of the playoffs during the 4:30 p.m. draw.
The other first-round men’s playoff game will see Alberta’s Austin Hennig (3-3) take on Manitoba’s Logan Zacharias (3-3).
Nova Scotia’s Zach Atherton (6-0) will face the winner of Weiss and Heisler in the quarter-final at 8:30 p.m., while Ontario’s Tyler MacTavish (6-0) will take on the winner of Hennig and Zacharias.
The other quarter-finals will see Manitoba’s Nash Sugden (5-1) face Alberta’s Peter Hlushak (5-1) at 4:30 p.m. and an all-Quebec battle as Raphael Tremblay (5-1) takes on Zachary Janidlo (6-0) at 8:30 p.m.
The final round robin draw in the women’s division also saw Wood, third Edie Jardine, second Amelia Whiting, lead Winnie Morin and alternate Amy Fradette pick up a big win, as they defeated P.E.I.’s Veronica Pater 6-3. That was good enough to see Wood finish 4-2 and seventh overall.
Wood will now face Manitoba’s Caitlyn McPherson (3-3) in their first playoff game. The other first-round game will see Quebec’s Summer St. James face Manitoba’s Karys Buchalter (3-3). Both those contests take place at 4:30 p.m.
Alberta’s Abby Desormeau (6-0) will face the winner of Wood and McPherson at 8:30 p.m. Friday, with Nova Scotia’s Cassidy Blades (6-0) taking on the winner of St. James and Buchalter in the same draw.
Other quarter-final games at 4:30 p.m. will see Ontario’s Katrina Frlan (4-2) take on New Brunswick’s Kate Gaines (4-2) and Alberta’s Alena Yurko (5-1) face B.C.’s Ava Arndt.
Hogeboom, third Payton Fisher, second Abby Hogeboom, lead Callista McQueen and alternate Kelsey McQueen won their final round robin game 8-1 over Nova Scotia’s Olivia Gouthro to finish 3-3, but the tiebreaker didn’t fall their way.
The playoffs continue Saturday at 8:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., with the medal games set for 4 p.m.
Be sure to keep an eye on for up-to-date results.
