After waiting all day to hit the ice, Kaitlyn Jones and her Nova Scotia rink kicked off their attempt to repeat as women’s champions at the New Holland Canadian Juniors Saturday night.
In their opening round-robin game at the Prince Albert Golf and Curling Club, the Halifax based quartet waited until the ninth end to pull away for good as they scored there points on their way to a 6-2 victory over the Host Team, which is skipped by Moose Jaw’s Skylar Ackerman.
“It was a back and forth game during the first half but then we finally got a chance to put things in our favour in the ninth end,” Jones said. “It was more of a slow-paced game, but we were able to capitalize on our chances.”
Although the game saw a ton of rocks in the rings, that’s not quite the style of play that the reigning world champions prefer to utilize.
“We usually like to keep it more open in the early ends, but both teams were making shots and that turned it into a real back and forth game,” Jones said.
“Even though there were a lot of rocks in play, especially in the fifth end when I think all but one stone was out there, each team was forcing each other to a single point or we had blanks on the board.”
Although Ackerman’s tournament-opener didn’t go her way, it was still a strong start for the Saskatchewan provincial runner-ups, who gained a spot in the event with the Yukon being unable to field a team this year.
“We’re definitely happy with how the game went, especially as we knew it would be a close battle with a really good team,” Ackerman said.
“It helps to have a positive start to this week and hopefully we can continue to play well from here after getting off on the right foot.”
The other women’s games at the Prince Albert Golf and Curling Club saw Quebec’s Laurie St-Georges cruise to a 7-1 win over Tyanna Bain of the Northwest Territories, while Mackenzie Glynn’s Newfoundland & Labrador rink got their first victory of the tournament in a 9-4 affair with Prince Edward Island’s Lauren Ferguson.
The lone men’s game at the venue saw British Columbia’s Tyler Tardi improve to 2-0 with a 14-1 win over Nunavut’s Javen Komaksiutikask.
Over at the Art Hauser Centre, Saskatchewan’s Sara England suffered her first loss in an 8-3 setback to Manitoba’s Mackenzie Zacharias and British Columbia’s Sarah Daniels defeated Ontario’s Thea Coburn by a score of 12-3.
In the men’s games held at the rink, Rylan Kleiter’s Saskatchewan squad picked up their second win of the day thanks to an 8-2 result over Ontario’s Samuel Steep.
The other matchups saw Prince Edward Island’s Tyler Smith open up his week with a 9-7 win over Quebec’s Vincent Roberge, while Manitoba’s J.T. Ryan picked up a 9-2 triumph over Sawer Kaeser of the Northwest Territories.
Standings After Draw 3
Men’s
Pool A
- British Columbia (Tyler Tardi) – 2-0
- Saskatchewan (Rylan Kleiter) – 2-0
- Alberta (Desmond Young) – 1-1
- Ontario (Samuel Steep) – 1-1
- Newfoundland & Labrador (Greg Blyde) – 0-1
- Yukon (Trygg Jensen) – 0-1
- Nunavut (Javen Komaksiutikask) – 0-2
Pool B
- Manitoba (J.T. Ryan) – 2-0
- New Brunswick (Jack Smeltzer) – 1-0
- Northern Ontario (Tanner Horgan) – 1-0
- Prince Edward Island (Tyler Smith) – 1-0
- Nova Scotia (Graeme Weagle) – 0-1
- Northwest Territories (Sawer Kaeser) – 0-2
- Quebec (Vincent Roberge) – 0-2
Women’s
Pool A
- British Columbia (Sarah Daniels) – 2-0
- Alberta (Selena Sturmay) – 1-0
- Nova Scotia (Kaitlyn Jones) – 1-0
- Host Team (Skylar Ackerman) – 0-1
- Northern Ontario (Kira Brunton) – 0-1
- Ontario (Thea Coburn) – 0-1
- Nunavut (Sadie Pinksen) – 0-1
Pool B
- Manitoba (Mackenzie Zacharias) – 2-0
- Quebec (Laurie St-Georges) – 2-0
- New Brunswick (Justine Comeau) – 1-1
- Newfoundland & Labrador (Mackenzie Glynn) – 1-1
- Saskatchewan (Sara England) – 1-1
- Northwest Territories (Tyanna Bain) – 0-2
- Prince Edward Island (Lauren Ferguson) – 0-2
Draw 4 Schedule – 9 a.m.
(All Games at Art Hauser Centre)
- Sheet A – Alberta/Nunavut (Women’s)
- Sheet B – Host Team/Northern Ontario (Women’s)
- Sheet C – Newfoundland & Labrador/Yukon (Men’s)
- Sheet D – Ontario/Nova Scotia (Women’s)
- Sheet E – New Brunswick/Nova Scotia (Men’s)
