Alberta men still in the hunt for a playoff spot

Alberta’s Mark Johnson scored four points in the 10th end to come from behind and defeat Ontario’s Peter Mellor 6-3 in Draw 16 action on Thursday afternoon in Yellowknife at the Canadian Senior Curling Championships. With the win, Johnson moves into third place in the standings with an 8-3 record and joins three other teams trying to grab a spot in at least the tiebreakers. Those teams include Nova Scotia’s Alan O’Leary (8-2), Manitoba’s Kelly Robertson (8-2), and Northern Ontario’s Robbie Gordon (7-3).
Alberta second Rob Bucholz in action at the 2014 Canadian Senior Curling Championships in Yellowknife, N.W.T. (Photo James MacKenize)

Alberta second Rob Bucholz in action at the 2014 Canadian Senior Curling Championships in Yellowknife, N.W.T. (Photo James MacKenize)

In Thursday afternoon action, O’Leary had his hands full with Quebec’s Denis Laflamme, who led 4-2 after seven ends. Nova Scotia went ahead in the eighth with a score of three, but Quebec fought back to lead 6-5. O’Leary scored a single in the 10th, sending the game to an extra end, where Laflamme generated a deuce for an 8-6 final, handing Nova Scotia only its second loss of the round robin. In other men’s action, Saskatchewan’s Darrell McKee (4-6) won 5-3 over New Brunswick’s Mark Armstrong (3-8), and Northwest Territories’ Glen Hudy (3-7) stole three ends on the way to a 7-3 victory over British Columbia’s Wes Craig (5-6). In the women’s draw, Saskatchewan’s Lorraine Arguin battled Heidi Hanlon of New Brunswick, with both teams trying to hang on to a possible playoff position. Trailing 5-4 after nine, Arguin scored three points in the 10th to put the game away 7-5 and move to a 9-1 record, tied for first with Manitoba’s Lois Fowler. Nova Scotia’s Colleen Pinkney moved into fourth place in the standings with a 9-6 win over Quebec’s Catherin Derick. The Nova Scotia foursome scored multiple points with hammer to build a lead that Derick (3-8) just couldn’t surmount. In other women’s games, Alberta’s Glenys Bakker scored three points in the eighth end to put away Prince Edward Island’s Jennifer Scott, 8-3, and Penny Shantz of B.C. cruised to an 11-1 victory over the hometown team from Yellowknife, skipped by Ann McKellar-Gillis. The winners of the 2014 Canadian Seniors will represent Canada at the 2015 World Senior Curling Championships, at a site and date to be announced by the World Curling Federation. Last year’s Canadian champions, skipped by Colleen Pinkney of Truro, N.S., and Wayne Tallon of Fredericton, N.B., are competing in this year’s World Seniors, April 23-30 at Dumfries, Scotland. Since the World Seniors began in 2002, Canada has won eight men’s and nine women’s titles. Draw results for the 2014 Canadian Seniors will be instantly available at www.curling.ca. For information about the event, including team rosters and event schedules, visit www.curling.ca/2014seniors-en.