For the Assiniboine Memorial Curling Club in Winnipeg, Manitoba, these 2020 New Holland Canadian Junior Championships hosted in the Township of Langley, British Columbia are extra special.

Both Manitoba representatives, team Jacques Gauthier and team Brett Walter, hail from the same club.

Thanks to being the silver medalists in the 2019 edition of the New Holland Canadian Junior Championships, Manitoba was granted an additional entry to the national championships to help complete the field. The additional berth was granted to their provincial finalist runners up, who have been dubbed Manitoba 1, the provincial champions, and Manitoba 2, the runners-up.

Brett Walter’s team of third Thomas Dunlop, second Zachary Wasylik, lead Lawson Yates, and coach Calvin Edie defeated fellow Manitoban skip Jacques Gauthier, third Jordan Peters, second Brayden Payette, lead Zack Bilawka and coach John Lund in the Manitoba provincial finals. Because of their provincial victory, Walter and company don the classic yellow and black jacket and bison crest of Manitoba.

Walter may be the Manitoba provincial champion, but it certainly doesn’t guarantee supremacy on the ice. It was Gauthier’s Manitoba 2 squadron who shone on the national stage, defeating Manitoba 1 in Draw 7 by a score of 9-4. 

Walter (2-2; Winnipeg) is taking the loss to his fellow club mate in stride.

“We had a good game yesterday and if we can finish with two more good ones, we’ll be ready for the championship round,” said Walter. “The crowds have been boosting us up all week.”

While the New Holland Junior Championship is Canada’s top youth curling event, don’t expect to see any bad blood between these two teams. The conduct on the ice in the draw 7 match-up was nothing less than amicable. 

“It’s the fourth time we’ve played against them this year. We’re at 2-2 against them now. They played well today – we didn’t play as good as them. We’ll come back stronger.” said Walter.

Undeterred by the loss, Walter feels comfortable in his Manitoba yellow and black: “I think I’ll take winning the provincial final over winning the draw 7 game. Winning a provincial final was one of my only goals in Juniors. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do. We get to wear the Manitoba jackets rather than the Manitoba 2 jackets.”

Jacques Gauthier (3-1; Winnipeg) echoed Walter’s sentiments about friendship superseding a potential inner-club rivalry.

“It feels pretty good to win this one on the national stage. That’s a really good team we just played. We came off a tough loss last night (in draw 6) against Nova Scotia so it was a really good bounce-back opportunity this morning. A win there against our friends really means a lot to us,” said Gauthier.

Gauthier and Walter are former teammates as well.

“We played together for five or six years. He played lead for me when I used to skip when I was 13 years old. It’s hard to have a real rivalry when we have a friendship. They’re great guys and great curlers. We’re just happy to represent the same club,” said Gauthier.

As a 21 year old, Gauthier is in his final year of eligibility for the New Holland Juniors. He was an alternate on the 2018 World Gold Medallist Tyler Tardi rink representing Canada and would love to achieve similar results in 2020.

“Every year, you come in to this event trying to win but since this is my last year, I’m trying to have fun with it. It’s a lot easier to savour these moments knowing they’re my last. We’re hoping the fun will carry over on the ice.” said Gauthier. 

In other draw 7 men’s action, Northern Ontario’s Jacob Horgan (2-1; Sudbury) defeated New Brunswick’s Liam Marin 8-7 in an extra end. Nova Scotia’s Owen Purcell (2-1; Chester) felled Québec’s Greg Cheal (0-4; Lennoxville) 8-6. Ontario’s Owen Purdy (1-3; Kingston) earned their first victory over Alberta’s Ryan Jacques (2-2; Edmonton) by a score of 8-5.

On the women’s side, Ontario’s Sierra Sutherland (3-1; Ottawa) defeated Newfoundland and Labrador’s Mackenzie Mitchell (2-2; St. John’s) 10-7. Northern Ontario’s Kira Brunton (1-3; Sudbury) beat Nunavut’s Sadie Pinksen (1-2; Iqaluit) by a score of 10-4. Saskatchewan’s Ashley Thevenot (4-0; Saskatoon) remained undefeated, downing the Northwest Territories’ Tyanna Bain (0-4; Inuvik) 8-3. 

The 2020 New Holland Canadian Junior Championships resume for Draw 8 action live from the George Preston Recreation Centre in Langley, British Columbia at 2 p.m. PST. 

Additional Online Reports:

Men — Click here

Women — Click here

For event information, visit www.curling.ca/2020juniors.

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For further information, contact:

Al Cameron

Director, Communication and Media Relations

Curling Canada

Cell: 403-463-5500

acameron@curling.ca