Defending champion PEI eliminated, playoffs set at Juniors

Ontario (Jake Walker of Kitchener) eliminated defending Canadian champion Prince Edward Island (Brett Gallant of Charlottetown) to claim second place and a berth in the men’s semi-final Saturday night at 7:30 pm at the M&M Meat Shops Canadian Juniors, presented by AMJ Campbell Van Lines. Both teams had entered the final draw of the round robin Friday afternoon with 8-3 records, knowing the winner would advance to the semi-final against Saskatchewan, while the loser would be out. Although the ‘Islanders’ scored one in the first, it was Ontario which did all the damage the rest of the way.   Walker took one in the second to tie, then proceeded to steal a single in the third end, a single in the fourth, three in the fifth and one in the sixth for an insurmountable lead 7-1 lead. Ontario thus finished in second spot, behind 10-2 Manitoba (Alex Forrest of Winnipeg), with an 9-3 record, the same as Saskatchewan (Braeden Moskowy of Regina), but was awarded second because of its round robin win. They’ll now meet in Saturday evening’s semi-final at 7:30 pm, with the winner facing Manitoba in Sunday’s 7:30 pm final at Le Colisée, live on TSN. On the women’s side, Ontario (Rachel Homan of Ottawa) completed the round robin with a perfect 12-0 mark, downing Prince Edward Island (Sarah Fullerton of Cornwall), 12-3. Ontario, which had already clinched a berth in Sunday’s final, live at 2:30 pm on TSN, will try to become only the fourth women’s team since 1971 to go undefeated and win the title.  The last to do so was Manitoba’s Cathy Overton, who went 11-0 in 1989 in Winnipeg in capturing the Canadian title. Saskatchewan’s Stefanie Miller went unbeaten in 2001 in St. Catharines during the round robin, but lost the final to Prince Edward Island’s Suzanne Gaudet. Northern Ontario (Kendra Lilly of Sudbury) claimed second spot with a 9-3 record to advance to the semi-final Saturday evening at 7:30 pm. Saskatchewan (Trish Paulsen of Saskatoon), British Columbia (Dailene Sivertson of Victoria) and Alberta (Nadine Chyz of Calgary) finished tied for third with 8-4 marks, after British Columbia defeated Nova Scotia, 8-3 Friday afternoon. Since Saskatchewan defeated both during the round robin, it advances to the second tiebreaker at 2:30 pm on Saturday.  Alberta plays British Columbia at 9:30 am Saturday morning in the first tiebreaker, with the winner advancing to face Saskatchewan. Other men’s game scores from Draw 20 saw Nova Scotia beat British Columbia, 6-4; Yukon clipped Quebec 6-4 and Newfoundland and Labrador was a 6-5 winner over Northwest Territories. Thus, the men’s round robin final standings are as follows: Manitoba (Alex Forrest of Winnipeg) 10-2 Ontario (Jake Walker of Kitchener) 9-3 Saskatchewan (Braeden Moskowy of Regina) 9-3 Prince Edward Island (Brett Gallant of Charlottetown) 8-4 Nova Scotia (Scott Garnett of Halifax) 8-4 Alberta (Brendan Bottcher of Edmonton) 6-6 Newfoundland and Labrador (Kelly Schuh of St. John’s) 6-6 British Columbia (Tyler Klymchuk of Langley) 6-6 Yukon (Thomas Scoffin of Whitehorse) 5-7 New Brunswick (Josh Barry of Rothesay) 5-7 Northern Ontario (Christian Tolusso of Thunder Bay) 4-8 Quebec (Kevin Rivest of Montreal) 1-11 Northwest Territories (Colin Miller of Yellowknife) 1-11 In other women’s games, Yukon whipped Quebec, 11-3 while Newfoundland and Labrador took care of Northwest Territories, 11-2. Thus, the women’s round robin final standings are as follows: Ontario (Rachel Homan of Ottawa) 12-0 Northern Ontario (Kendra Lilly of Sudbury) 9-3 Saskatchewan (Trish Paulsen of Saskatoon) 8-4 British Columbia (Dailene Sivertson of Victoria) 8-4 Alberta (Nadine Chyz of Calgary) 8-4 Prince Edward Island (Sarah Fullerton of Cornwall) 6-6 Manitoba (Breanne Meakin of Winnipeg) 6-6 Newfoundland and Labrador (Jen Cunningham of St. John’s) 5-7 New Brunswick (Jessica Daigle of Saint John) 5-7 Quebec (Camille-Marie Lapierre of Otterburn Park) 4-8 Nova Scotia (Tara LeGay of Bridgewater) 4-8 Yukon (Sarah Koltun of Whitehorse) 3-9 Northwest Territories (Amanda Moizis of Hay River) 0-12