U SPORTS – DAY 1 (of 5): Defending champions Laurier and Alberta off to strong start

THUNDER BAY, Ont. (U SPORTS) – The first day of the U SPORTS/Curling Canada Curling Championships opened  Saturday evening with a total 16  teams from across the country finishing their first draw of the round robin, hosted by the Lakehead Thunderwolves.

Championship website (complete results): http://en.usports.ca/championships/curling/index

Eight men’s and eight women’s teams will be competing for gold for the next five days to name themselves the best teams in university curling.

“Great first day,” said Danny Lamoureux, director of curling club development and championship services at Curling Canada. All teams competed hard and both Lakehead teams played well. It is going to be a great championship.”

The men’s side opened with Dalhousie taking down Alberta 6-2, capturing their first win of the championship. The Memorial Sea-Hawks defeated the UPEI Panthers 9-5 while the Queen’s Gaels were downed by the Regina Cougars 5-4. 

The Thunderwolves men’s team faced the reigning champions from Wilfrid Laurier, in a very exciting match. Both teams traded points until they were tied 6-6 after ten, pushing to an extra end with Laurier having the hammer. Laurier Skip Matt Hall made a great open hit, capturing the 7-6 win for the Golden Hawks. 

On the women’s side, Laurentian grabbed a 5-1 lead after four ends and continued their momentum to an 8-2 victory over Regina.  The Ryerson Rams also walked away with a win on Saturday, edging StFX 8-3. 

The Lakehead women faced a tough challenge against the Dalhousie Tigers in their first draw. Dalhousie skip Kristin Clarke, who won gold in the 2016 Canadian and world junior curling championship was a strong force for the Tigers. Ready to compete after a heartbreaking bronze-medal loss in last year’s  national championships, Dalhousie was tied with the Thunderwolves 3-3 after four ends. The two teams traded points in the next three ends until the Thunderwolves scored four in the eighth, taking the lead for good and winning 8-5.  

“I think we played great! We wanted to go out there and show everyone that we are not just here because we are the host team but we are here because we can compete at this high level,” said Lakehead skip and Fort Frances, Ont., native Hailey Beaudry after their first draw of the day. “ We have only played one other team here before so it is great and exciting to play against some new competition.” 

Alberta, the defending women’s national champions – skipped by Kristen Streifel, who recently won bronze at the world juniors in South Korea, took on UNB. The Pandas grabbed a quick 2-0 lead in the first end and never loocked back, finishing the day with a 10-6 win.

The round robin continues Sunday at the Fort William Curling and Athletic Club in Thunder Bay, with Draw 2 beginning at 2 p.m. ET, followed by Draw 3 starting at 7 p.m. ET.

DAY 1 SCORES

Draw 1 – Men

Dalhousie 6, Alberta 2  
Memorial 9, UPEI 5
Laurier 7, Lakehead 6  
Regina 5, Queen’s 4

Draw 1 – Women

Alberta 10, UNB 6
Lakehead 8, Dalhousie 5
Laurentian 8, Regina 2
Ryerson 8, StFX 3

DAY 1 STANDINGS 

Men
Laurier 1-0 
Regina 1-0
Dalhousie 1-0
Memorial 1-0
Lakehead 0-1
UPEI 0-1
Queen’s 0-1
Alberta 0-1

Women
Laurentian  1-0
Ryerson 1-0
Alberta  1-0
Lakehead 1-0
Dalhousie 0-1
UNB 0-1
Regina 0-1
StFX 0-1

SCHEDULE (All times ET)

Saturday, March 18
8 p.m. Draw 1

Sunday, March 19
2 p.m. Draw 2
7 p.m. Draw 3

Monday, March 20
2 p.m. Draw 4
7 p.m. Draw 5

Tuesday, March 21
2 p.m. Draw 6
7 p.m. Draw 7

Wednesday, March 22
9 a.m. Semifinals
2 p.m. Bronze and Gold medal games
7 p.m. Championship banquet

About U SPORTS

U SPORTS is the national brand for University Sports in Canada. Every year, over 12,000 student-athletes and 500 coaches from 56 universities vie for 21 national championships in 12 different sports. U SPORTS also provides higher performance international opportunities for Canadian student-athletes at Winter and Summer Universiades, as well as numerous world university championships. For further information, visit usports.ca or follow us on:

Twitter: @USPORTSca
Facebook: @USPORTSCanada
YouTube:  @USPORTSca 
Instagram: @USPORTSca
Snapchat: @USPORTSca

-U SPORTS –

For further information, please contact:

Ken Saint-Eloy
Manager, Communications
U SPORTS
Cell: 647-871-7595
ksainteloy@usports.ca 

Alan Hudes 
Coordinator, Communications
U SPORTS
Off: 905-508-3000 ext. 242
Cell: 647-991-5343
ahudes@usports.ca

Samantha Connolly
Lakehead University
Off: 807-766-7157
spinfo@lakeheadu.ca

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DAY 2 (of 5): 2017 U SPORTS/Curling Canada Curling Championships

Alberta women, Memorial men remain perfect

THUNDER BAY, Ont. (U SPORTS) – Day 2 continued at the U SPORTS/Curling Canada Curling Championships Sunday with Draws 2 and 3, showcasing the best university curlers in the country hosted by Lakehead University.

Championship website (complete results): http://en.usports.ca/championships/curling/index

Draw 2 began Sunday afternoon with the University of Alberta’s Kristen Streifel being the only unbeaten women’s team after two rounds of play. 

Streifel’s experienced Panda teammates of Danielle Schmiemann, Kate Goodhelpsen, Jesse Iles, Chantele Broderson and coach Garry Coderre defeated the Ryerson Rams’ Maggie Macintosh 10-4. Last month, Streifel, with Goodhelpsen and Broderson, captured the bronze medal at the 2017 world junior curling championships in Gagneung, South Korea, while in January, Schmiemann  won gold medal at the 2017 World University Games in Almaty, Kazakhstan, playing third stones for former Pandas skip Kelsey Rocque.

In other women’s games, 2016 world junior women’s champion Kristin Clarke and her Dalhousie Tigers rink jumped into the win column with a convincing 10-1 win over the Laurentian Voyageurs, skipped by Krysta Burns. Clarke stole points in four consecutive ends en route the the victory, evening both schools’ records at 1-1.

The StFX X-Women also won their first game of the competition 7-4 over the UNB foursome, skipped by Justine Comeau, who fell to 0-2 StFX. Skip Emma Logan fell behind 4-2 after seven ends but rebounded with a pair in the eighth, then stole two points in the ninth, and a single in the 10th end for the win.

Finally, Haylee Jameson’s Regina crew shook off a bit of unexpected jet-lag, earning their first victory by defeating the  host Lakehead Thunderwolves 10-5. Jameson’s rink  was stranded Friday night in Winnipeg with flight delays, forcing  a long day of travelling and curling on Saturday.

On the men’s side, Memorial’s Adam Boland kept his perfect record intact with a hard-fought 6-3 win over perennial powerhouse and defending champion Wilfrid Laurier, skipped by Matt Hall. Robert Mayhew of the Dalhousie Tigers also edged Regina’s Sam Wills 5-3.

The  Thunderwolves men’s team, skipped by Dave Henderson, continued their fine play early in the competition, thrashing UPEI’s Chris Gallant 8-1, dropping the Panthers to 0-2.

2015 U SPORTS champion Thomas Scoffin of the Alberta Golden Bears earned his first victory, after a well-played game by both teams, stopping Queen’s 7-5. Despite some great shot-making, the Kingston,Ont.-based foursome dropped to 0-2.

The teams were back on the ice a few hours later for Draw 3 , beginning with StFX and Regina on the women’s side. StFX picked up two points in the 10th to earn the 5-4 win that put them at 2-1 in the tournament.

Meanwhile, Clarke and Dalhousie faced the challenge of undefeated Alberta and trailed only by one after four ends. However, the Pandas  showed why they are one of the top teams in the country in defeating the Tigers 8-4, remaining undefeated at 3-0 in the round robin. 

Laurentian had a 6-0 lead over UNB after five ends and finished the night with an easy 9-2 win. The Voyageurs now stand at 2-1, while the Varsity Reds fell to 0-3.  

 

After a tough loss earlier in the day, Beaudry and the host Thunderwolves bounced back, capturing a 5-4 win over Ryerson.

On the men’s side, Dalhousie’s Mayhew paced the Tigers in the first two ends to a 2-1 lead over Laurier. After two blanks and another single point from Dalhousie, the Golden Hawks put themselves back on the board with a key shot from Hall that gave the team four points. Laurier continued their roll into the seventh end with a steal of two, knocking off the undefeated Tigers, 9-4

“We played really well and it was a great bounce back from this afternoon. We went down early in the game and I really like how my guys stayed patient, stayed relaxed and we were able to get things going our way and came out with a good game,” said Hall, who has also been performing the national anthem prior to the beginning of the draw.  “We didn’t expect to get that big shot in the sixth but it was a huge swing and it was definitely a big confidence boost.”

In their second match of the day, Memorial  had a slim 2-1 lead after three ends and led 5-1 after four, holding on to edge Alberta 8-6.  The loss dropped Alberta to a surprising 1-2 record. 

UPEI picked up their first win of the round robin taking down Queen’s 7-6. Host Lakehead struggled in their game against Regina, with the Cougars taking a key four in the sixth and three more in the eighth to seal a 10-4 win.

Round Robin play continues Monday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. EST at the Fort William Curling Club in Thunder Bay with Draw 6 following at 7:00 p.m. 

The semifinals and medal games will be played Wednesday, March 22.

DAY 2 SCORES

Draw 2 – Men
Memorial 6, Laurier 3
Alberta 7, Queen’s 5
Dalhousie 5, Regina 3
Lakehead 8, UPEI 1

Draw 2 – Women
Dalhousie 10, Laurentian 1
Alberta 10, Ryerson 4
StFX 7, UNB 4
Regina 10, Lakehead 5

Draw 3 – Men
Regina 10, Lakehead 4
Laurier 9, Dalhousie 4 
UPEI 7, Queen’s 6
Memorial 8, Alberta 6

Draw 3 – Women 
StFX 5, Regina 4
Laurentian 9, UNB 2
Lakehead 5, Ryerson 4
Alberta 8, Dalhousie 4

DAY 2 STANDINGS

Men
Memorial 3-0
Laurier 2-1
Dalhousie 2-1
Regina 2-1
Lakehead 1-2
Alberta 1-2
UPEI 1-2
Queen’s 0-3

Women
Alberta 3-0
Laurentian 2-1
StFX 2-1
Lakehead 2-1
Dalhousie 1-2
Regina 1-2
Ryerson 1-2
UNB 0-3

SCHEDULE (All times ET)

Saturday, March 18
8 p.m. Draw 1

Sunday, March 19
2 p.m. Draw 2
7 p.m. Draw 3

Monday, March 20
2 p.m. Draw 4 (USPORTS.LIVE)
7 p.m. Draw 5 (USPORTS.LIVE)

Tuesday, March 21
2 p.m. Draw 6 (USPORTS.LIVE)
7 p.m. Draw 7 (USPORTS.LIVE)

Wednesday, March 22
9 a.m. Semifinals (USPORTS.LIVE)
2 p.m. Bronze and Gold medal games (USPORTS.LIVE)
7 p.m. Championship banquet

About U SPORTS

U SPORTS is the national brand for University Sports in Canada. Every year, over 12,000 student-athletes and 500 coaches from 56 universities vie for 21 national championships in 12 different sports. U SPORTS also provides higher performance international opportunities for Canadian student-athletes at Winter and Summer Universiades, as well as numerous world university championships. For further information, visit usports.ca or follow us on:

Twitter: @USPORTSca
Facebook: @USPORTSCanada
YouTube:  @USPORTSca 
Instagram: @USPORTSca
Snapchat: @USPORTSca

-U SPORTS –

For further information, please contact:

Ken Saint-Eloy
Manager, Communications
U SPORTS
Cell: 647-871-7595
ksainteloy@usports.ca 

Alan Hudes 
Coordinator, Communications
U SPORTS
Off: 905-508-3000 ext. 242
Cell: 647-991-5343
ahudes@usports.ca

Samantha Connolly
Lakehead University
Off: 807-766-7157
spinfo@lakeheadu.ca