Manitoba and Alberta will play for gold at Canadian Wheelchair Championship

Manitoba’s Mark Thiessen and Alberta’s Jack Smart will play for gold at the 2017 Canadian Wheelchair Curling Championship after emerging from two tight semifinal battles on Saturday night at the Club de curling Boucherville, Que.

Dennis Thiessen of Manitoba (François Lacasse photo)

Thiessen and his team of third Mark Wherrett, second Jamie Andseeuw, lead Carolyn Lindner, coach Tom Clasper and assistant coach Tom Wherrett faced off against home-province favourite, Benoit Lessard, in a game that was tied 5-5 after six ends. A deuce in the seventh gave Manitoba the lead, and they ran Quebec out of rocks in eight to take the 7-5 win and earn their spot in tomorrow’s final. In the other semifinal, Smart and his Calgary Curling Club team of third Bruno Yizek, second Martin Purvis, lead Anne Hibberd, alternate Wendy Frazier and coach Ernie Comerford scored a single in the eighth to squeak by Ontario’s Mike Munro, 4-3. Earlier in the day, Munro had defeated New Brunswick’s Mike Fitzgerald 8-5 in a tiebreaker to earn his chance at the semifinal. The medal games are now set for Sunday morning at 10 a.m. EDT, with Manitoba and Alberta battling for gold, and Quebec and Ontario going for bronze. Scores, standings and team information can be found on the event website, at www.curling.ca/2017wheelchair/.

Anne Hibberd and Bruno Yizek, Alberta (François Lacasse photo)