After suffering their first loss of the week earlier in the day by a score of 8-4 to Manitoba’s Mackenzie Zacharias, Quebec’s Laurie St-Georges didn’t have to wait long for a chance to get back on track.
A steal of three points in the second end, along with some great takeout shots by the 20-year-old, proved to be the keys at the Art Hauser Centre as St-Georges picked up a 7-5 win over Saskatchewan’s Sara England Monday night at the 2019 New Holland Canadian Juniors.
“It was a tough loss to Manitoba, but that game just came down to us missing a couple of key shots,” St-Georges said.
“We played super well as a team tonight and it felt great to get back on the arena ice and make shots.”
With the win, St-Georges enters the final day of Pool B play in second place with a 4-1 record and is all but assured of a spot in the championship pool, which gets underway Wednesday.
The rink, which also includes third Cynthia St-Georges, second Emily Riley and lead Noemie Gauthier, made it to the final last year but lost to Nova Scotia’s Kaitlyn Jones.
“When you look at Kaitlyn and her team, they have so much experience at this level and they have been able to use that to their advantage,” said St-Georges, who also competed with her sister and Riley at the 2016 juniors.
“To be able to make the final last year was big for us. We’ve really been able to learn a lot from that, especially when it comes to the little things like what the rocks do and what the ice does during the event.”
The team has also had to deal with some unforeseen challenges this week as their coach Michel St-Georges, who is also Laurie and Cynthia’s dad, had to have emergency surgery for a detached retina at the start of the tournament.
“It was great to have him back on the bench with us today,” St-Georges said. “Our mom (Josee Ricard) did a great job filling in for him, but her first game on the bench ended up being one that was on the livestream (on Curling Canada’s Facebook page) so that was a bit stressful for her.
“When we look to the bench and see him with his neck cranked, we kind of laugh about it. But we’re all just thankful that he’s with us again.”
In the other women’s games on Monday night, Selena Sturmay’s Alberta rink kept their perfect record intact with an 8-2 win over Ontario’s Thea Coburn, British Columbia’s Sarah Daniels picked up an 8-4 victory over the Host Team skipped by Moose Jaw’s Skylar Ackerman and Prince Edward Island’s Lauren Ferguson prevailed in an 11-5 affair over Tyanna Bain of the Northwest Territories.
Meanwhile, Manitoba’s J.T. Ryan improved to 4-0 in men’s play as he defeated New Brunswick’s Jack Smeltzer by a score of 8-5 at the Prince Albert Golf and Curling Club.
Saskatchewan’s Rylan Kleiter all but clinched a spot in the Championship Pool as his rink picked up an 8-6 win over Newfoundland & Labrador’s Greg Blyde.
Elsewhere, Quebec’s Vincent Roberge cruised to an 8-3 triumph over Northern Ontario’s Tanner Horgan, Ontario’s Samuel Steep topped the Yukon’s Trygg Jensen by a score of 5-1 and Prince Edward Island’s Tyler Smith had a 13-4 victory over the Northwest Territories’ Sawer Kaeser.
Men’s
Pool A
- British Columbia (Tyler Tardi) – 4-0
- Saskatchewan (Rylan Kleiter) – 4-1
- Ontario (Samuel Steep) – 3-2
- Alberta (Desmond Young) – 2-2
- Newfoundland & Labrador (Greg Blyde) – 2-3
- Yukon (Trygg Jensen) – 1-4
- Nunavut (Javen Komaksiutikask) – 0-4
Pool B
- Manitoba (J.T. Ryan) – 4-0
- Nova Scotia (Graeme Weagle) – 3-1
- New Brunswick (Jack Smeltzer) – 2-2
- Northern Ontario (Tanner Horgan) – 2-2
- Quebec (Vincent Roberge) – 2-2
- Prince Edward Island (Tyler Smith) – 2-3
- Northwest Territories (Sawer Kaeser) – 0-5
Women’s
Pool A
- Alberta (Selena Sturmay) – 5-0
- British Columbia (Sarah Daniels) – 4-1
- Nova Scotia (Kaitlyn Jones) – 3-1
- Northern Ontario (Kira Brunton) – 2-2
- Ontario (Thea Coburn) – 2-3
- Nunavut (Sadie Pinksen) – 0-4
- Host Team (Skylar Ackerman) – 0-5
Pool B
- Manitoba (Mackenzie Zacharias) – 4-0
- Quebec (Laurie St-Georges) – 4-1
- New Brunswick (Justine Comeau) – 3-1
- Saskatchewan (Sara England) – 3-2
- Newfoundland & Labrador (Mackenzie Glynn) – 1-3
- Prince Edward Island (Lauren Ferguson) – 1-4
- Northwest Territories (Tyanna Bain) – 0-5
Draw 10 Schedule – 9 a.m.
(All Games at Art Hauser Centre)
- Sheet A – Northern Ontario/British Columbia (Women’s)
- Sheet B – Prince Edward Island/Manitoba (Women’s)
- Sheet C – Newfoundland & Labrador/Northwest Territories (Women’s)
- Sheet D – Nunavut/Alberta (Men’s)
- Sheet E – British Columbia/Ontario (Men’s)
