The stage is set for the men’s playoffs this weekend at the 2019 New Holland Canadian Juniors in Prince Albert.

At the conclusion of Championship Pool play Friday morning, British Columbia’s Tyler Tardi stood all alone in first place with a 9-1 record and earned a bye to Sunday’s final in the process.

Saturday’s semifinal, which will take place at 7 p.m. at the Art Hauser Centre, will feature Saskatchewan’s Rylan Kleiter and Manitoba’s J.T. Ryan.

Kleiter ended up in second in the round-robin with an 8-2 mark after losing his last Championship Pool game to Ryan by a score of 10-4.

“It was closer than the final score will show,” Kleiter said. “We had to try a crazy shot at the end and they ended up stealing four.

“It’s been a pretty good round-robin for us overall. We’ve gotten better as the week has gone along, but we’re still looking for that breakout game. We think we can be a little bit sharper when it comes to our line calls and our sweeping.”

Ryan bounced back from a 4-1 deficit after four ends to earn a spot in the semis and prevent a tiebreaker game with Northern Ontario’s Tanner Horgan.

“We had a big win yesterday morning against Tyler (Tardi), which was an awesome performance from our team, but then we came out flat against Newfoundland & Labrador and found ourselves down 7-0 after five ends when we had a chance to get in the playoffs,” Ryan said.

“To come back out and play like we did this morning felt good, especially as we stayed calm when we fell behind and we knew that we weren’t out of the game.”

Tardi, who can capture his third straight title on Sunday along with third Sterling Middleton, clinched his bye into the final with a 7-3 win over Nova Scotia’s Graeme Weagle.

“We have a few games under our belts when it comes to being on TSN at the juniors, so our nerves are pretty settled down when it comes to that,” Tardi said.

“The biggest thing for us now is to make sure that we aren’t just sitting around before the final. We’re going to stay as active as we can and make the most out of the practice session that (Curling Canada) will give us.”

Friday’s other men’s Championship Pool games saw Horgan pick up a 9-5 win over Newfoundland & Labrador’s Greg Blyde, while Alberta’s Desmond Young prevailed in a 9-5 affair over Quebec’s Vincent Roberge.

Ontario’s Samuel Steep wrapped up Seeding Pool play on a winning note with a 9-3 triumph over Sawer Kaeser of the Northwest Territories.

Over in the women’s event, there was a three-way tie for second place in the Championship Pool.

Defending world champion Kaitlyn Jones and her Nova Scotia rink picked up their third straight win with a 9-8 triumph over Quebec’s Laurie St-Georges at the Prince Albert Golf and Curling Club in a rematch of last year’s final.

British Columbia’s Sarah Daniels would end up joining those rinks with a 7-3 record after she dropped a 9-4 decision to New Brunswick’s Justine Comeau.

With all three teams posting a 1-1 mark in their head-to-head matchups, the tie had to be broken through which rink had the best overall result in the pre-game draw to the button this week, which gave Nova Scotia a spot in Saturday’s semifinal.

British Columbia and Quebec will now square off in a tiebreaker game at the Art Hauser Centre at 2 p.m. this afternoon for the third and final playoff spot in the women’s event.

The two sides previously played each other Thursday morning, with St-Georges coming away with a 7-5 victory.

Alberta’s Selena Sturmay, who had already clinched a bye into Sunday’s final, concluded a perfect 10-0 round-robin with a 9-4 win over Saskatchewan’s Sara England.

The other women’s Championship Pool game on Friday morning saw Manitoba’s Mackenzie Zacharias cruise to an 11-3 triumph over Northern Ontario’s Kira Brunton

Final Round-Robin Standings

Men’s

Championship Pool

• British Columbia (Tyler Tardi) – 9-1
• Saskatchewan (Rylan Kleiter) – 8-2
• Manitoba (J.T. Ryan) – 7-3
• Northern Ontario (Tanner Horgan) – 6-4
• Alberta (Desmond Young) – 5-5
• Quebec (Vincent Roberge) – 5-5
• Newfoundland & Labrador (Greg Blyde) – 5-5
• Nova Scotia (Graeme Weagle) – 4-6

Seeding Pool

• New Brunswick (Jack Smeltzer) – 6-3
• Ontario (Samuel Steep) – 5-4
• Prince Edward Island (Tyler Smith) – 4-5
• Yukon (Trygg Jensen) – 2-7
• Northwest Territories (Sawer Kaeser) – 1-8
• Nunavut (Javen Komaksiutikask) – 0-9

Women’s

Championship Pool

• Alberta (Selena Sturmay) – 10-0
• Nova Scotia (Kaitlyn Jones) – 7-3
• British Columbia (Sarah Daniels) – 7-3
• Quebec (Laurie St-Georges) – 7-3
• Manitoba (Mackenzie Zacharias) – 6-4
• Northern Ontario (Kira Brunton) – 5-5
• Saskatchewan (Sara England) – 5-5
• New Brunswick (Justine Comeau) – 5-5

Seeding Pool

• Newfoundland & Labrador (Mackenzie Glynn) – 5-4
• Ontario (Thea Coburn) – 4-5
• Host Team (Skylar Ackerman) – 2-7
• Northwest Territories (Tyanna Bain) – 2-7
• Prince Edward Island (Lauren Ferguson) – 2-7
• Nunavut (Sadie Pinksen) – 0-9

After a bit of an up-and-down week by their standards, the defending world women’s junior curling champions still have a chance of making the playoffs.

With a pair of wins Thursday, Kaitlyn Jones and her Nova Scotia rink improved their record to 6-3 at the 2019 New Holland Canadian Juniors in Prince Albert and sit in fourth place in the women’s championship pool ahead of their round-robin finale with Laurie St-Georges and her 7-2 Quebec squad Friday morning.

“We were on the wrong side of the inch a few times this week, but we were also dealing with some sickness and that was a struggle for us to try and get over that,” Jones said.

“Now that we’re feeling better, we’re starting to get into a bit of a groove here. We’ve found some momentum and we hope that keeps building ahead of a big game with Quebec tomorrow.”

After beating New Brunswick’s Justin Comeau in the afternoon draw, Jones picked up a 7-6 win over Manitoba’s Mackenzie Zacharias at the Art Hauser Centre Thursday night.

In what turned out to be a back-and-forth game, Jones had an open draw to the rings to seal the victory and end the playoff hopes for Zacharias after the Manitoba’s skip came up short of the house on her final shot in the 10th end.

“We had a pretty complete team performance, but Manitoba played amazing as well,” Jones said. “When she (Zacharias) had that unfortunate miss on her last, that allowed us to have an opprotunity to get the win.”

Jones can be assured of a tiebreaker game on Friday afternoon if she can beat St-Georges in a rematch of last year’s final, but Sarah Daniels’ 7-2 British Columbia rink could also fall into that mix if they lose to Comeau tomorrow morning.

St-Georges knocked Northern Ontario’s Kira Brunton out of the playoff picture with a 9-4 win Thursday evening.

Meanwhile, Alberta’s Selena Sturmay has clinched a spot in Sunday’s final after improving to 9-0 with a 7-6 triumph over Comeau.

In Seeding Pool play, Tyanna Bain’s Northwest Territories rink stole a point in the last end for a 5-4 victory over Skylar Ackerman’s Host Team from Moose Jaw, while Prince Edward Island’s Lauren Ferguson routed Nunavut’s Sadie Pinksen by a score of 17-4.

Over in the men’s Championship Pool, things got a little more interesting in the race for the third and final playoff spot after Tanner Horgan’s Northern Ontario rink beat Alberta’s Desmond Young in a 9-6 affair and Quebec’s Vincent Roberge picked up an 8-3 victory Newfoundland & Labrador’s Gregg Blyde.

Blyde, Horgan and Roberge are all tied for fourth in the standings at 5-4, while Manitoba’s J.T. Ryan currently holds on to the third and final playoff spot with a 6-3 record.

If Ryan loses tomorrow to Saskatchewan’s Rylan Kleiter, that would force a tiebreaker on Friday afternoon against a yet to be determined opponent.

Horgan and Blyde are going head-to-head to keep their playoff hopes alive, while Roberge will need to beat Young to enter the tiebreaker discussion.

The battle for first place and a spot in Sunday’s final is still up in the air as well, as British Columbia’s Tyler Tardi and Kleiter both have 8-1 marks.

Tardi, who is the defending men’s world champion and has won two straight national titles, will play Nova Scotia’s Graeme Weagle on Friday morning.

Thursday night also saw a pair of men’s Seeding Pool games, as Tyler Smith’s Prince Edward Island rink picked up an 9-5 victory over the Yukon’s Trygg Jensen and New Brunswick’s Jack Smeltzer cruised to a 15-4 triumph over Nunavut’s Javen Komaksiutikask.

Standings After Draw 19

Men’s

Championship Pool

• British Columbia (Tyler Tardi) – 8-1
• Saskatchewan (Rylan Kleiter) – 8-1
• Manitoba (J.T. Ryan) – 6-3
• Newfoundland & Labrador (Greg Blyde) – 5-4
• Northern Ontario (Tanner Horgan) – 5-4
• Quebec (Vincent Roberge) – 5-4
• Alberta (Desmond Young) – 4-5
• Nova Scotia (Graeme Weagle) – 4-5

Seeding Pool

• New Brunswick (Jack Smeltzer) – 6-3
• Ontario (Samuel Steep) – 4-4
• Prince Edward Island (Tyler Smith) – 4-5
• Yukon (Trygg Jensen) – 2-7
• Northwest Territories (Sawer Kaeser) – 1-7
• Nunavut (Javen Komaksiutikask) – 0-9

Women’s

Championship Pool

• Alberta (Selena Sturmay) – 9-0
• British Columbia (Sarah Daniels) – 7-2
• Quebec (Laurie St-Georges) – 7-2
• Nova Scotia (Kaitlyn Jones) – 6-3
• Manitoba (Mackenzie Zacharias) – 5-4
• Northern Ontario (Kira Brunton) – 5-4
• Saskatchewan (Sara England) – 5-4
• New Brunswick (Justine Comeau) – 4-5

Seeding Pool

• Newfoundland & Labrador (Mackenzie Glynn) – 5-4
• Ontario (Thea Coburn) – 4-5
• Host Team (Skylar Ackerman) – 2-7
• Northwest Territories (Tyanna Bain) – 2-7
• Prince Edward Island (Lauren Ferguson) – 2-7
• Nunavut (Sadie Pinksen) – 0-9

Draw 19 Schedule – 9 a.m.

Art Hauser Centre

• Sheet A – British Columbia/Nova Scotia (Men’s Championship Pool)
• Sheet B – Alberta/Saskatchewan (Women’s Championship Pool)
• Sheet C – Saskatchewan/Manitoba (Men’s Championship Pool)
• Sheet D – Ontario/Northwest Territories (Men’s Seeding Pool)
• Sheet E – British Columbia/New Brunswick (Women’s Championship Pool)

Prince Albert Golf & Curling Club

• Sheet F – Quebec/Nova Scotia (Women’s Championship Pool)
• Sheet G – Northern Ontario/Newfoundland & Labrador (Men’s Championship Pool)
• Sheet H – Quebec/Alberta (Men’s Championship Pool)
• Sheet I – Manitoba/Northern Ontario (Women’s Championship Pool)

While the Carlton Crusaders came away with a victory over the St. Mary Marauders Tuesday night, the outcome of the senior girls’ basketball contest was secondary to the real cause of the evening.

After almost a year of planning, $89,623 was raised for the Prince Albert Victoria Hospital Foundation through the “Swish for a Cure” game that the Marauders hosted in their gym.

“It went far better than we ever expected,” Marauders coach Dwayne Gareau said. “We knew that the turnout would be there, but the amount of donations that came in and the energy that was in our gym that night was something I won’t forget.

“That’s what makes Prince Albert a great place. Everyone comes together for a cause when they know it helps people in our community.”

The funds from the game, which also included a silent auction, bake sale and a halftime performance from local dance studios, will be used towards the purchase of Continuous Ambulatory Delivery Device (CADD) pumps that help cancer patients receive medications during their treatments.

The event received an extra boost as well from Malcolm Jenkins, who matched what the school raised from their fundraising efforts, and a $50,000 donation from Conexus Credit Union.

“To have Conexus pick our event as one that helps local health services means a lot,” Gareau said. 

“The same thing can be said about Malcolm, as he’s someone who is always giving of his time and money to help the community.”

The Marauders, who wore pink jerseys that were paid for by the North Battleford Vikings after they played in their fundraiser game last year, will now pay it forward to the Crusaders.

They will be purchasing Carlton’s uniforms for their cancer fundraiser game next winter against the Melfort Comets.

“It was an amazing event for us to be a part of,” Crusaders coach Kelsey Pearson said. “St. Mary did such a good job of bringing the community together for a cause that I think almost everyone is affected by.

“The night wasn’t about basketball. It was about tackling something together and to see the support they got was amazing.”

Both teams are now preparing to return to the tournament trail over the next month before Carlton hosts the SHSAA 5A girls’ rural regional event on March 15 and 16.

The top two teams from that tournament will then go to Hoopla in Saskatoon the following weekend.

After a team meeting Tuesday night following a pair of losses, Manitoba’s J.T. Ryan has gotten back on track in a big way at the 2019 New Holland Canadian Juniors.

Following a 10-3 win over Alberta’s Desmond Young Wednesday evening at the Art Hasuer Centre, the Winnipeg based rink handed two-time defending reigning national champion and world title holder Tyler Tardi his first loss of the week in a 7-4 affair against British Columbia at the Prince Albert Golf and Curling Club Thursday morning.

“That was by far our best game of the week,” Ryan said. “We were all throwing well, we got a good read on the ice and we were putting the broom in the right spot.

“Hopefully we can continue to trend upwards here and clinch a spot in the playoffs for this weekend.”

The contest was decided early on as Ryan got a three-ender in the second end and stole two more points in the third to build up a 5-0 advantage.

“Things got a bit cluttered out there and we forced them into some tough shots, but they were two pretty different ends,” Ryan said.

“We got a little bit fortunate in one of those ends as Tyler was light on a draw. He’s usually pretty good on those shots.”

Ryan now sits alone in third place in the Championship Pool with a 6-2 record, while Tardi is at 7-1 and tied for first place with Saskatchewan’s Rylan Kleiter, who picked up a 7-6 win over Northern Ontario’s Tanner Horgan at the Art Hauser Centre.

Meanwhile, Alberta’s Desmond Young prevailed in an 10-9 extra-end affair with Nova Scotia’s Graeme Weagle, which puts both rinks at 4-4 for the week.

In Seeding Pool play, New Brunswick’s Jack Smeltzer got a six-ender in the third end on his way to a 10-6 win over Ontario’s Samuel Steep, while Trygg Jensen’s Yukon rink defeated the Northwest Territories’ Sawer Kaeser by a score of 6-3.

Over in the Women’s Championship Pool, Northern Ontario’s Kira Brunton defeated Saskatchewan’s Sara England in an 8-5 contest, while Laurie St-Georges of Quebec earned a 7-5 decision over Sarah Daniels of British Columbia.

Mackenzie Glynn’s Newfoundland & Labrador rink cruised to a 13-2 win over Nunavut’s Sadie Pinksen in the Seeding Pool and Ontario’s Thea Coburn earned a 9-2 victory over Tyanna Bain of the Northwest Territories.

Standing After Draw 16

Men’s

Championship Pool

• British Columbia (Tyler Tardi) – 7-1
• Saskatchewan (Rylan Kleiter) – 7-1
• Manitoba (J.T. Ryan) – 6-2
• Newfoundland & Labrador (Greg Blyde) – 4-3
• Quebec (Vincent Roberge) – 4-3
• Alberta (Desmond Young) – 4-4
• Northern Ontario (Tanner Horgan) – 4-4
• Nova Scotia (Graeme Weagle) – 4-4

Seeding Pool

• New Brunswick (Jack Smeltzer) – 5-3
• Ontario (Samuel Steep) – 4-4
• Prince Edward Island (Tyler Smith) – 2-5
• Yukon (Trygg Jensen) – 2-6
• Northwest Territories (Sawer Kaeser) – 1-7
• Nunavut (Javen Komaksiutikask) – 0-7

Women’s

Championship Pool

• Alberta (Selena Sturmay) – 7-0
• British Columbia (Sarah Daniels) – 6-2
• Quebec (Laurie St-Georges) – 6-2
• Manitoba (Mackenzie Zacharias) – 5-2
• Northern Ontario (Kira Brunton) – 5-3
• Saskatchewan (Sara England) – 5-3
• New Brunswick (Justine Comeau) – 4-3
• Nova Scotia (Kaitlyn Jones) – 4-3

Seeding Pool

• Newfoundland & Labrador (Mackenzie Glynn) – 4-4
• Ontario (Thea Coburn) – 4-4
• Host Team (Skylar Ackerman) – 1-6
• Prince Edward Island (Lauren Ferguson) – 1-6
• Northwest Territories (Tyanna Bain) – 1-7
• Nunavut (Sadie Pinksen) – 0-8

Draw 17 Schedule – 2 p.m.

Art Hauser Centre

• Sheet A – Manitoba/Newfoundland & Labrador (Men’s Championship Pool)
• Sheet B – New Brunswick/Nova Scotia (Women’s Championship Pool)
• Sheet C – Alberta/Manitoba (Women’s Championship Pool)
• Sheet D – Prince Edward Island/Nunavut (Men’s Seeding Pool)
• Sheet E – British Columbia/Quebec (Men’s Championship Pool)

Prince Albert Golf and Curling Club

• Sheet F – Nova Scotia/Saskatchewan (Men’s Championship Pool)
• Sheet G – Saskatchewan/British Columbia (Women’s Championship Pool)
• Sheet H – Prince Edward Island/Host Team (Women’s Seeding Pool)
• Sheet I – Ontario/Newfoundland & Labrador (Women’s Seeding Pool)

A change in her approach may pay huge dividends for Saskatchewan’s Sara England
at the 2019 New Holland Canadian Juniors.

Her Regina rink produced one of the loudest reactions to date at the Art Hauser Centre Wednesday night as they won a women’s Championship Pool game by a score of 8-2 over defending national and world champion Kaitlyn Jones of Nova Scotia.

“At first I was trying to block out the noise and not embrace the cheers of the crowd,” England said. “Now that’s become my biggest motivation as you want to hear the fans get loud and cheer after each shot.

“Our team is now in a spot where we feel really comfortable in the arena. The crowds here are going crazy whenever the Saskatchewan teams do something and we’re starting to feed off the energy.”

England, who was the third on Jones’ rink two years ago when they represented Saskatchewan at the juniors, took advantage of a missed in-off hit attempt by her former teammate in the seventh end as she scored three points to take a 6-2 lead.

“We had made a ton of shots up to that point and we had some confidence going,” England said.

“(Third) Rachel (Erickson) made a great line call and the girls (second Sarah Hoag and lead Jade Goebel) swept it perfectly on my first shot (which was a hit attempt that left her sitting two). That forced her (Jones) into a tough shot that we got a bit of a break on, which allowed us to make that draw into the four-foot for our three points.”

The other women’s Championship Pool game on Wednesday night saw Northern Ontario’s Kira Brunton defeat New Brunswick’s Justine Comeau by a score of 8-3.

Tyanna Bain’s Northwest Territories rink got their first win of the week in a Seeding Pool match at the Prince Albert Golf and Curling Club in a 7-6 affair with Nunavut’s Sadie Pinksen.

Over in the Men’s Championship Pool, it was a strong return to form for Manitoba’s J.T. Ryan as he rebounded from a two-loss day on Tuesday with a 10-3 victory over Alberta’s Desmond Young.

“We don’t usually have very long meetings as a team but we had a long chat after last night,” Ryan said. “We weren’t being ourselves and our focus today was to come back and play like we have been all year.

“We had two good battles with Nova Scotia and Northern Ontario yesterday, but we just weren’t as sharp as we usually are. It was great to play like we know we can here tonight.”

Newfoundland & Labrador’s Greg Blyde got steals in the eighth and ninth end of his Championship Pool contest as he topped Nova Scotia’s Graeme Weagle by a score of 10-6.

In Seeding Pool play, New Brunswick’s Jack Smeltzer won a 10-4 affair with the Yukon’s Trygg Jensen and Sawer Kaeser led his Northwest Territories rink to their first victory of the week as they defeated Nunavut’s Javen Komaksiutikask in an 8-5 contest.

Standings After Draw 15

Men’s

Championship Pool

• British Columbia (Tyler Tardi) – 7-0
• Saskatchewan (Rylan Kleiter) – 6-1
• Manitoba (J.T. Ryan) – 5-2
• Newfoundland & Labrador (Greg Blyde) – 4-3
• Northern Ontario (Tanner Horgan) – 4-3
• Nova Scotia (Graeme Weagle) – 4-3
• Quebec (Vincent Roberge) – 4-3
• Alberta (Desmond Young) – 3-4

Seeding Pool

• New Brunswick (Jack Smeltzer) – 4-3
• Ontario (Samuel Steep) – 4-3
• Prince Edward Island (Tyler Smith) – 2-5
• Northwest Territories (Sawer Kaeser) – 1-6
• Yukon (Trygg Jensen) – 1-6
• Nunavut (Javen Komaksiutikask) – 0-7

Women’s

Championship Pool

• Alberta (Selena Sturmay) – 7-0
• British Columbia (Sarah Daniels) – 6-1
• Manitoba (Mackenzie Zacharias) – 5-2
• Quebec (Laurie St-Georges) – 5-2
• Saskatchewan (Sara England) – 5-2
• New Brunswick (Justine Comeau) – 4-3
• Northern Ontario (Kira Brunton) – 4-3
• Nova Scotia (Kaitlyn Jones) – 4-3

Seeding Pool

• Newfoundland & Labrador (Mackenzie Glynn) – 3-4
• Ontario (Thea Coburn) – 3-4
• Host Team (Skylar Ackerman) – 1-6
• Northwest Territories (Tyanna Bain) – 1-6
• Prince Edward Island (Lauren Ferguson) – 1-6
• Nunavut (Sadie Pinksen) – 0-7

Draw 16 Schedule – 9 a.m.

Art Hauser Centre

• Sheet A – British Columbia/Quebec (Women’s Championship Pool)
• Sheet B – Saskatchewan/Northern Ontario (Men’s Championship Pool)
• Sheet C – Nova Scotia/Alberta (Men’s Championship Pool)
• Sheet D – Newfoundland & Labrador/Nunavut (Women’s Seeding Pool)
• Sheet E – Saskatchewan/Northern Ontario (Women’s Championship Pool)

Prince Albert Golf & Curling Club

• Sheet F – New Brunswick/Ontario (Men’s Seeding Pool)
• Sheet G – Northwest Territories/Ontario (Women’s Seeding Pool)
• Sheet H – Northwest Territories/Yukon (Men’s Seeding Pool)
• Sheet I – Manitoba/British Columbia (Men’s Championship Pool)

The top eight teams in the men’s and women’s event at the 2019 New Holland Canadian Junior Curling Championships are now in the stretch drive when it comes to making the playoffs in Prince Albert.

Following a tiebreaker on the men’s side between Ontario and Alberta in the morning, the Championship Pool began at the Art Hauser Centre this afternoon with three spots in this weekend’s playoffs up for grabs in each event.

Selena Sturmay’s Alberta rink is still perfect in the women’s division, though it took a steal of one point in the extra end for them to pick up a 9-8 win over Quebec’s Laurie St-Georges.

“It’s nice to know that we can grind out a win if we have to, especially when we are the only game left on the ice and everyone in the rink is watching us,” second Kate Goodhelpsen said.

“We weren’t quite as sharp as we have been this week, but Quebec was playing amazing and it turned into quite a battle between us.”

In the wildest game of the draw, British Columbia’s Sarah Daniels had a pair of four-enders on her way to a 15-6 victory over Manitoba’s Mackenzie Zacharias.

“Both of our teams like to have rocks in play, and when you add that together you get a few ends where there’s a lot of rocks in the house,” Daniels said.

“The ice was a little different compared to what we’ve seen here earlier in the week, but we were able to get a handle on it early on and we tried to use that to our advantage.”

Over in the Seeding Pool, Ontario’s Thea Coburn cruised to a 9-4 victory over Prince Edward Island’s Lauren Ferguson, while Newfoundland & Labrador’s Mackenzie Glynn edged Skylar Ackerman’s Host Team from Moose Jaw in a 4-3 affair.

In the men’s Championship Pool, Tyler Tardi’s British Columbia rink remained undefeated after a 6-2 triumph over Tanner Horgan’s Northern Ontario squad and Saskatchewan’s Rylan Kleiter kept up his winning ways with a 10-2 performance over Quebec’s Vincent Roberge.

After suffering a tough loss to Alberta’s Desmond Young in a tiebreaker game Wednesday morning, Ontario’s Samuel Steep rebounded in his first Seeding Pool game with an 11-7 victory over Prince Edward Island’s Tyler Smith.

Standings after Draw 14

Men’s

Championship Pool

• British Columbia (Tyler Tardi) – 7-0
• Saskatchewan (Rylan Kleiter) – 6-1
• Manitoba (J.T. Ryan) – 4-2
• Nova Scotia (Graeme Weagle) – 4-2
• Northern Ontario (Tanner Horgan) – 4-3
• Quebec (Vincent Roberge) – 4-3
• Alberta (Desmond Young) – 3-3
• Newfoundland & Labrador (Greg Blyde) – 3-3

Seeding Pool

• Ontario (Samuel Steep) – 4-3
• New Brunswick (Jack Smeltzer) – 2-4
• Prince Edward Island (Tyler Smith) – 2-5
• Yukon (Trygg Jensen) – 1-5
• Northwest Territories (Sawer Kaeser) – 0-6
• Nunavut (Javen Komaksiutikask) – 0-6

Women’s

Championship Pool

• Alberta (Selena Sturmay) – 7-0
• British Columbia (Sarah Daniels) – 6-1
• Manitoba (Mackenzie Zacharias) – 5-2
• Quebec (Laurie St-Georges) – 5-2
• New Brunswick (Justine Comeau) – 4-2
• Nova Scotia (Kaitlyn Jones) – 4-2
• Saskatchewan (Sara England) – 4-2
• Northern Ontario (Kira Brunton) – 3-3

Seeding Pool

• Ontario (Thea Coburn) – 3-4
• Newfoundland & Labrador (Mackenzie Glynn) – 3-4
• Host Team (Skylar Ackerman) – 1-6
• Prince Edward Island (Lauren Ferguson) – 1-6
• Northwest Territories (Tyanna Bain) – 0-6
• Nunavut (Sadie Pinksen) – 0-6

Draw 15 Schedule – 7 p.m.

Art Hauser Centre

• Sheet A – Nova Scotia/Saskatchewan (Women’s Championship Pool)
• Sheet B – Newfoundland & Labrador/Nova Scotia (Men’s Championship Pool)
• Sheet C – Northern Ontario/New Brunswick (Women’s Championship Pool)
• Sheet D – Yukon/New Brunswick (Men’s Seeding Pool)
• Sheet E – Alberta/Manitoba (Men’s Championship Pool)

Prince Albert Golf & Curling Club

• Sheet G – Nunavut/Northwest Territories (Men’s Seeding Pool)
• Sheet H – Nunavut/Northwest Territories (Women’s Seeding Pool)

Desmond Young and his rink from Edmonton are still in the mix for the men’s title at the 2019 New Holland Canadian Juniors in Prince Albert.

The Alberta squad advanced into the Championship Pool Wednesday morning as they came away with a dramatic 5-4 win over Ontario’s Samuel Steep in a tiebreaker game at the Art Hauser Centre.

“That was a very exciting game to be a part of and we’re really happy to come away with the win,” Young said. “It was pretty similar to our round-robin game (which Ontario won by a score of 8-7 Saturday) as both teams are pretty evenly matched.

“Now that we’ve reached the Championship Pool, we’re going to stick to our one game at a time approach that got us to this point. We’ll try to get as many wins as we can in the next couple of days and see where that puts us heading into the weekend.”

Without the hammer in the 10th end and with the game tied at four, the Alberta team did an excellent job of getting rocks in the house and had three stones around the four-foot as Steep prepared to shoot his last.

The Ontario skip went for a double runback attempt to try and get the win, but one of the Alberta stones stayed in the four-foot for a steal of one point.

“We knew we had to be aggressive from the start without having the hammer,” Young said.

“Our first six shots that our team threw in the tenth end were excellent and that really put us in a position where we could steal. That was probably the turning point of the game.”

Alberta will be back in action tonight at 7 p.m. as they’ll take on Manitoba’s J.T. Ryan.

Meanwhile, Steep’s rink from the Galt Country Club heads into the Seeding Pool, which determines the groups for next year’s Canadian Juniors.

Standings After Draw 13

Men’s

Championship Pool

• British Columbia (Tyler Tardi) – 6-0
• Saskatchewan (Rylan Kleiter) – 5-1
• Manitoba (J.T. Ryan) – 4-2
• Northern Ontario (Tanner Horgan) – 4-2
• Nova Scotia (Graeme Weagle) – 4-2
• Quebec (Vincent Roberge) – 4-2
• Alberta (Desmond Young) – 3-3
• Newfoundland & Labrador (Greg Blyde) – 3-3

Seeding Pool

• Ontario (Samuel Steep) – 3-3
• New Brunswick (Jack Smeltzer) – 2-4
• Prince Edward Island (Tyler Smith) – 2-4
• Northwest Territories (Sawer Kaeser) – 0-6
• Yukon (Trygg Jensen) – 1-5
• Nunavut (Javen Komaksiutikask) – 0-6

Women’s

Championship Pool

• Alberta (Selena Sturmay) – 6-0
• British Columbia (Sarah Daniels) – 5-1
• Manitoba (Mackenzie Zacharias) – 5-1
• Quebec (Laurie St-Georges) – 5-1
• New Brunswick (Justine Comeau) – 4-2
• Nova Scotia (Kaitlyn Jones) – 4-2
• Saskatchewan (Sara England) – 4-2
• Northern Ontario (Kira Brunton) – 3-3

Seeding Pool

• Newfoundland & Labrador (Mackenzie Glynn) – 2-4
• Ontario (Thea Coburn) – 2-4
• Host Team (Skylar Ackerman) – 1-5
• Prince Edward Island (Lauren Ferguson) – 1-5
• Northwest Territories (Tyanna Bain) – 0-6
• Nunavut (Sadie Pinksen) – 0-6

Draw 14 Schedule – 2 p.m.

Art Hauser Centre

• Sheet A – Quebec/Saskatchewan (Men’s Championship Pool)
• Sheet B – Manitoba/BC (Women’s Championship Pool)
• Sheet C – Northern Ontario/British Columbia (Men’s Championship Pool)
• Sheet D – Ontario/Prince Edward Island (Women’s Seeding Pool)
• Sheet E – Quebec/Alberta (Women’s Championship Pool)

Prince Albert Golf & Curling Club

• Sheet G – Host Team/Newfoundland & Labrador (Women’s Seeding Pool)
• Sheet H – Ontario/Prince Edward Island (Men’s Seeding Pool)

After a pair of losses forced them into a must-win situation, Northern Ontario’s women’s team came up big Tuesday night.

Facing Ontario’s Thea Coburn for fourth place in Pool A, Kira Brunton led her Sudbury based rink to a 6-3 win at the Prince Albert Golf and Curling Club and a spot in the Championship Pool at the 2019 New Holland Canadian Juniors.

“We’re all pretty excited right now,” Brunton said.

“One of our goals coming into this week was to make it in the championship pool. Now we’re just going to take things one game at a time and go from there.”

Brunton moved into the lead in the third end with a pair of points and had a 3-1 cushion following a steal of one in the fourth.

She would then get two more points in the seventh to take a 5-2 lead into the final three frames.

“We had some strong starts early this week in a few of our games, but we just couldn’t keep up our momentumn and our opponents would get back in it,” Brunton said.

“Its nice to finally have a game like this where we played well right from the first rock, especially with the Championship Pool starting and a chance to make the playoffs.”

Also coming out of Pool A are Alberta’s Selena Sturmay, British Columbia’s Sarah Daniels and Nova Scotia’s Kaitlyn Jones.

After suffering a lopsided loss to the undefeated Sturmay rink in the afternoon, the defending world champions got back in the win column in dominating fashion Tuesday night as they picked up a six-ender in the seventh end to take a 20-3 win over Sadie Pinksen of Nunavut.

The other women’s game in Draw 12 saw Manitoba’s Mackenzie Zacharias suffer her first loss of the week as New Brunswick’s Justine Comeau stole a point in the final end to take a 6-5 victory.

Both rinks have advanced to the Championship Pool out of Pool B, along with Quebec’s Laurie St-Georges and Saskatchewan’s Sara England.

Coburn, Pinksen, Newfoundland & Labrador’s Mackenzie Glynn, Prince Edward Island’s Lauren Ferguson, Tyanna Bain of the Northwest Territories and Skylar Ackerman’s Host Team from Moose Jaw will now square off in the Seeding Pool, which will help to determine the groups for the 2020 Canadian Juniors.

Over in the men’s bracket, one spot in the Championship Pool will be decided on Wednesday at 9 a.m., as Ontario’s Samuel Steep and Alberta’s Desmond Young will compete in a tiebreaker game at the Art Hauser Centre.

They both finished with a 3-3 record and were tied for third place in Pool A with Newfoundland & Labrador’s Gregg Blyde, but Blyde’s rink earned that spot by virtue of having the best overall result from the pre-game last stone draw to the button this week.

Wednesday’s tiebreaker will be a rematch of a wild 8-7 game that took place Saturday in the second draw of the tournament, as Steep tied the game with a three-ender in the 10th end and benfited from a rare blank in the 11th before stealing a point in the 12th.

Blyde finished off his Pool A schedule on Tuesday night with a 12-3 triumph over Nunavut’s Javen Komaksiutikask.

Tyler Tardi’s British Columbia squad remained perfect at 6-0 and finished first in Pool A with a 9-6 win over Young, while Rylan Kleiter of Saskatchewan went 5-1 to finish second in the group after a 10-2 victory over the Yukon’s Trygg Jensen.

The top four teams in Pool B all squared off Tuesday night, as Quebec’s Vincent Roberge cruised to a 9-3 decision over Nova Scotia’s Graham Weagle and Northern Ontario’s Tanner Horgan defeated Manitoba’s J.T. Ryan by a score of 7-4.

Each rink posted records of 4-2 to advance into the Championship Pool, which proved to be unlucky for New Brunswick’s Jack Smeltzer.

His Fredericton based squad stole two points in the 10th end in a 9-7 win over Prince Edward Island’s Tyler Smith, but needed a loss from either Horgan or Roberge to get in a tiebreaker with a 3-3 record.

Smeltzer will now enter the Seeding Pool, which also features Smith, Jensen,
Komaksiutikask, Sawer Kaeser of the Northwest Territories and the loser of Wednesday’s tiebreaker.

Standings after Draw 12

Men’s

Pool A

• British Columbia (Tyler Tardi) – 6-0
• Saskatchewan (Rylan Kleiter) – 5-1
• Newfoundland & Labrador (Greg Blyde) – 3-3
• Ontario (Samuel Steep) – 3-3
• Alberta (Desmond Young) – 3-3
• Yukon (Trygg Jensen) – 1-5
• Nunavut (Javen Komaksiutikask) – 0-6

Pool B

• Quebec (Vincent Roberge) – 4-2
• Northern Ontario (Tanner Horgan) – 4-2
• Nova Scotia (Graeme Weagle) – 4-2
• Manitoba (J.T. Ryan) – 4-2
• New Brunswick (Jack Smeltzer) – 2-4
• Prince Edward Island (Tyler Smith) – 2-4
• Northwest Territories (Sawer Kaeser) – 0-6

Women’s

Pool A

• Alberta (Selena Sturmay) – 6-0
• British Columbia (Sarah Daniels) – 5-1
• Nova Scotia (Kaitlyn Jones) – 4-2
• Northern Ontario (Kira Brunton) – 3-3
• Ontario (Thea Coburn) – 2-4
• Host Team (Skylar Ackerman) – 1-5
• Nunavut (Sadie Pinksen) – 0-6

Pool B

• Manitoba (Mackenzie Zacharias) – 5-1
• Quebec (Laurie St-Georges) – 5-1
• Saskatchewan (Sara England) – 4-2
• New Brunswick (Justine Comeau) – 4-2
• Newfoundland & Labrador (Mackenzie Glynn) – 2-4
• Prince Edward Island (Lauren Ferguson) – 1-5
• Northwest Territories (Tyanna Bain) – 0-6

Draw 13 Schedule – 9 a.m.

Art Hauser Centre

• Sheet C – Ontario vs. Alberta (Men’s Tiebreaker)

Strong early few gemas let it go kept the moemtumn up throughout the whole game. Nice to have one like that.

A unique format to this year’s New Holland Canadian Juniors led to a dream scenario for sisters Chantel and Sarah Hoag.

With the Yukon being unable to field a team in the women’s event in Prince Albert, it meant that runner-up from this year’s Saskatchewan playdowns would also get the chance to compete on home ice alongside the provincial champions.

As it turned, Sarah’s Regina-based rink that is skipped by Sara England got to wear the green jacket and Chantel’s team from Moose Jaw that is skipped by Skylar Ackerman earned the right to be the Host Team for the event.

“Both us have goals that we set out for ourselves, but we would have been happy not matter what if just one of us got the chance to play at the nationals,” Sarah Hoag said. “For both of us to reach that goal in the same year with the Host Team taking part in the tournament, it was the perfect situation for us.”

“I think our parents (Derek and Genelle) were more excited than we were because they didn’t have to worry about who to cheer for with both of us in the final,” Chantel Hoag added. “Everyone in our family was excited for us to go to the nationals together and have the chance to cheer us on.”

While the sisters are competing at the Canadian Juniors for the first time, they have both represented their province at other events.

Sarah, 20, was the third on Rachel Erickson’s team at the 2017 Under-18 nationals and was the lead on Haylee Jameson’s rink from the University of Regina at the 2018 U Sports championships.

Chantel, 15, won a silver medal with Ackerman at last year’s Under-18’s and will represent the province next month at the 2019 Canada Winter Games in Red Deer.

“Our team kind of knew what to expect having been to the Under-18’s, but it’s so much bigger out here, especially as we have a pretty young team,” Chantel said. “There were some nerves early on, but I was able to talk to my older sister and work those issues out.”

“We’ve bounced some ideas off of one another, but she has a silver medal at the Under 18’s and I don’t, so she might know a little bit more than me some days,” Sarah joked. “I think that being able to be at events like that has helped us out a lot though, especially as we know what it’s like to play on arena ice.”

Following pool play Tuesday, Saskatchewan had a 4-2 record and was heading to the championship pool, while the Host Team was off to the seeding pool with a 1-5 mark.

Although the siblings won’t be able to play against each other this week, the chance to be at the Canadian Juniors in the same year is one they won’t soon forget.

“Being on different teams in the same province can be though, so for us to share this experience in the same year has been fantastic,” Sarah said.

“To have my big sister playing and all of our family here cheering us on has been amazing and it’s really added to this whole experience,” Chantel added.

Nova Scotia’s Graeme Weagle showed on Tuesday afternoon that he’s ready to compete among the best young men’s teams in the country.

In a battle for first place in Pool B, Weagle handed Manitoba’s J.T. Ryan his first loss of the 2019 New Holland Canadian Juniors in a 7-4 affair at the Prince Albert Golf and Curling Club.

“We felt like we were making some good shots in the first couple of ends, but we were rolling off on freezes or rolling too far on hits and that allowed them to take the lead,” Weagle said.

“As the game went on, we got into our groove and started to settle in, which made the difference. Both teams made some really good shots and there were a few bounces that could have gone either way to be honest.”

Nova Scotia and Manitoba are both assured a spot in the Championship Pool, which gets underway Wednesday, but are now tied for first place in their group at 4-1.

Weagle, who is the defending national Under-18 champion, is in action tonight against Quebec’s Vincent Roberge, while Ryan takes on Northern Ontario’s Tanner Horgan.

“We were hoping to split the day to be honest,” Weagle said.

“We’re feeling really good after that one and hopefully we can get another win against a really good Quebec team, as that would put us in a great spot going into Wednesday.”

Roberge kept his playoff hopes alive with a 7-4 decision over New Brunswick’s Jack Smeltzer, while Horgan cruised to a 16-3 victory over Sawer Kaeser of the Northwest Territories.

While Weagle and Ryan were duking it out, the other game at the Prince Albert Golf and Curling Club saw Saskatchewan’s Sara England finish up her Pool B slate with a 4-2 record after an 8-5 win over New Brunswick’s Justine Comeau.

“We were guaranteed a spot in the Championship Pool no matter the result, but to be able to get a win and improve our ranking is something that we are all feeling good about,” Saskatchewan third Rachel Erickson said.

“We picked up our level of play a lot after our loss to Quebec last night and we were really dialed in as a team this afternoon. It also helped to be back at the club for this game, as it helps us get away from a bit of the distractions that you can sometimes face at the arena.”

Meanwhile, Alberta’s Selena Sturmay concluded her Pool A slate on an impressive note, as she moved to 6-0 for the week with a 10-4 win over Nova Scotia’s Kaitlyn Jones.

In the other games during the draw, Skylar Ackerman’s Host Team from Moose Jaw got their first win over the week in a 15-0 affair against Nunavut’s Sadie Pinksen and Laurie St-Georges of Quebec defeated Mackenzie Glynn of Newfoundland & Labrador by a score of 5-3.

Standings after Draw 11

Men’s

Pool A

• British Columbia (Tyler Tardi) – 5-0
• Saskatchewan (Rylan Kleiter) – 4-1
• Alberta (Desmond Young) – 3-2
• Ontario (Samuel Steep) – 3-3
• Newfoundland & Labrador (Greg Blyde) – 2-3
• Yukon (Trygg Jensen) – 1-4
• Nunavut (Javen Komaksiutikask) – 0-5

Pool B

• Manitoba (J.T. Ryan) – 4-1
• Nova Scotia (Graeme Weagle) – 4-1
• Northern Ontario (Tanner Horgan) – 3-2
• Quebec (Vincent Roberge) – 3-2
• New Brunswick (Jack Smeltzer) – 2-3
• Prince Edward Island (Tyler Smith) – 2-3
• Northwest Territories (Sawer Kaeser) – 0-6

Women’s

Pool A

• Alberta (Selena Sturmay) – 6-0
• British Columbia (Sarah Daniels) – 5-1
• Nova Scotia (Kaitlyn Jones) – 3-2
• Northern Ontario (Kira Brunton) – 2-3
• Ontario (Thea Coburn) – 2-3
• Host Team (Skylar Ackerman) – 1-5
• Nunavut (Sadie Pinksen) – 0-5

Pool B

• Manitoba (Mackenzie Zacharias) – 5-0
• Quebec (Laurie St-Georges) – 5-1
• Saskatchewan (Sara England) – 4-2
• New Brunswick (Justine Comeau) – 3-2
• Newfoundland & Labrador (Mackenzie Glynn) – 2-4
• Prince Edward Island (Lauren Ferguson) – 1-5
• Northwest Territories (Tyanna Bain) – 0-6

Draw 12 Schedule – 7 p.m.

Art Hauser Centre

• Sheet A – Newfoundland & Labrador vs. Nunavut (Men’s)
• Sheet B – Northern Ontario/Manitoba (Men’s)
• Sheet C – Alberta/British Columbia (Men’s)
• Sheet D – New Brunswick/Prince Edward Island (Men’s)
• Sheet E – Nunavut/Nova Scotia (Women’s)

Prince Albert Golf & Curling Club

• Sheet F – Manitoba/New Brunswick (Women’s)
• Sheet G – Yukon/Saskatchewan (Men’s)
• Sheet H – Nova Scotia/Quebec (Men’s)
• Sheet I – Ontario/Northern Ontario (Women’s)