Tyler Tardi showed why he is the two-time defending national men’s junior curling champion skip and the reigning world title holder Sunday night at the Art Hauser Centre.
In a contest that pitted a pair of unbeaten rinks, Tardi shot 99 percent as British Columbia improved to 3-0 with a 5-3 win over Saskatchewan’s Rylan Kleiter in Pool A play at the 2019 New Holland Canadian Juniors.
“When you get to an event like this, you always want to keep turning up your level of play, and that was a great performance by us,” said Tardi, who is joined on his rink by third Sterling Middleton, second Matthew Hall and lead Alex Horvath.
“It’s a bit of a race at this part of the week. Not only are you trying to figure out your weaknesses and what you can do to fix those, but you are also trying to figure how you can capitalize on some of the things that your opponents are doing.”
Hall and Middleton were also impressive as they both shot 90 percent and joined Tardi in limiting any chances that Kleiter had to get multiple points until the eighth end.
They also came away with steals in the third, fifth and sixth ends to extend their lead.
“Being able to do that (limit Kleiter’s scoring opportunities) definitely played a big role in our success tonight,” Tardi said.
“Our dynamic as a group is really good at the moment and we’re just focused on keeping a positive energy going through the rest of the week.”
Although it wasn’t the result that Kleiter was hoping for, his Saskatoon rink sits second in Pool A with a 3-1 record and are all but assured a spot in the Championship Pool.
“We’re happy with where we are at, but we’re still looking to improve in order to be among the best teams when the playoffs roll around,” Kleiter said.
“Tyler’s whole team played well and you have to give full credit to them. We learned quite a bit in that game and that should bode well for us moving forward as we don’t feel like we’ve peaked yet.”
Manitoba’s J.T. Ryan also moved to 3-0 on Sunday night with a 7-3 win over Prince Edward Island’s Tyler Smith.
New Brunswick’s Jack Smeltzer got a three-ender in the fourth end, stole two points in the fifth and picked up three more without the hammer in the sixth as he handed Northern Ontario’s Tanner Horgan his first loss in an 11-7 affair.
The other men’s games in the draw saw Quebec’s Vincent Roberge pick up an 11-2 triumph over Sawer Kaser of the Northwest Territories, while the Yukon’s Trygg Jensen cruised to a 15-3 victory over Nunavut’s Javen Komaksiutikask.
Draw 6 also featured a matchup of unbeaten women’s teams at the Prince Albert Golf and Curling Club between Alberta’s Selena Sturmay and British Columbia’s Sarah Daniels.
Sturmay’s Edmonton squad picked up three points in the opening end and withstood any comeback bids from Daniels as they kept their perfect record intact with an 8-6 victory.
In a high-scoring affair that saw both rinks score three enders on two occasions, Ontario’s Thea Coburn made a draw to the eight-foot in the tenth end for a 10-9 triumph over Skylar Ackerman’s Host Team from Moose Jaw, who now sits at 0-3.
Finally, Saskatchewan’s Sara England improved to 2-1 on the week with a 7-3 win over Prince Edward Island’s Lauren Ferguson.
Men’s
Pool A
- British Columbia (Tyler Tardi) – 3-0
- Saskatchewan (Rylan Kleiter) – 3-1
- Newfoundland & Labrador (Greg Blyde) – 2-1
- Alberta (Desmond Young) – 1-2
- Ontario (Samuel Steep) – 1-2
- Yukon (Trygg Jensen) – 1-2
- Nunavut (Javen Komaksiutikask) – 0-3
Pool B
- Manitoba (J.T. Ryan) – 3-0
- New Brunswick (Jack Smeltzer) – 2-1
- Northern Ontario (Tanner Horgan) – 2-1
- Nova Scotia (Graeme Weagle) – 1-1
- Prince Edward Island (Tyler Smith) – 1-2
- Quebec (Vincent Roberge) – 1-2
- Northwest Territories (Sawer Kaeser) – 0-3
Women’s
Pool A
- Alberta (Selena Sturmay) – 3-0
- Nova Scotia (Kaitlyn Jones) – 2-0
- British Columbia (Sarah Daniels) – 2-1
- Northern Ontario (Kira Brunton) – 2-1
- Ontario (Thea Coburn) – 1-2
- Host Team (Skylar Ackerman) – 0-3
- Nunavut (Sadie Pinksen) – 0-3
Pool B
- Manitoba (Mackenzie Zacharias) – 3-0
- Quebec (Laurie St-Georges) – 3-0
- New Brunswick (Justine Comeau) – 2-1
- Saskatchewan (Sara England) – 2-1
- Newfoundland & Labrador (Mackenzie Glynn) – 1-2
- Northwest Territories (Tyanna Bain) – 0-3
- Prince Edward Island (Lauren Ferguson) – 0-4
Draw 7 Schedule – 9 a.m.
(All Games at Art Hauser Centre)
- Sheet A – Nova Scotia/Prince Edward Island (Men’s)
- Sheet B – Nunavut/Ontario (Women’s)
- Sheet C – British Columbia/Nova Scotia (Women’s)
- Sheet D – Newfoundland & Labrador/British Columbia (Men’s)
- Sheet E – Alberta/Yukon (Men’s)
