Alberta alone on top at the Canadian Wheelchair Curling Championship

The sun came out for the first time all week to open day four at the Canadian Wheelchair Curling Championship in Edmonton, AB. Besides ordering up some sun for the curlers, the local organizing committee and their troop of volunteers continue to work hard to ensure the curlers are enjoying the event. Wanda Pizzinato, Alberta alternate, stated “The food has been awesome and the service at the club has be great. The volunteers have been wonderful!”
Host skip Cliff Nuspl

Photo by Bevan Sauks

Draw 6 brought an end to Nova Scotia’s undefeated streak. British Columbia handed them a 6-1 loss after six ends. Newfoundland was defeated by Quebec by a score of 8-1, keeping team NL’s win-less streak intact. The Ontario-Saskatchewan game saw a bit of excitement when an official’s time out was called in the third end to fix Ontario skip Chris Rees’ delivery stick after a plastic malfunction. Saskatchewan, including a four-ender in the third, ended up winning that game 9-6. Much to the relief of their coach, event chair Cathy Craig, the Alberta Host team didn’t give up a four-ender today. Instead, the Alberta Host team and Northern Ontario played a game of singles until Northern Ontario closed down the hosts 5-2. At the end of the afternoon draw, Bruno Yizek’s Alberta team remained the only undefeated team after taking down Manitoba 6-4. The first teams off the ice for draw 7 in the evening were Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Manitoba bounced back after their loss this afternoon, beating Saskatchewan 7-3. Nova Scotia’s Michael Fitzgerald and team shook off this afternoon’s loss by beating Ontario 7-5 in seven ends. Alberta retained their undefeated standing by scoring a four-ender in the seventh end to turn the game around versus Northern Ontario. Alberta won that game 8-7 in the full eight ends. Quebec had a commanding lead against BC, scoring three in the sixth end. Gary Cormack of BC came back with another score of three in the seventh, but still lost to Quebec 5-7.
Newfoundland and Labrador skip Joanne MacDonald

Photo by Bevan Sauks

The Alberta Host team, no stranger to extra ends, played a close game as Newfoundland kept pace with the hosts all the way to the end. In a NL  heartbreaker of an extra end, Alberta stole a point for the win. Newfoundland skip Joanne MacDonald  commented “I thought we played extremely well. Our second [Flex Green] probably curled 95%. He was awesome! It was a really good game and I felt like we were in it the whole time.” Newfoundland continues to chase that elusive win. After seven ends, Alberta remains the only undefeated team. Nova Scotia (6-1) and Manitoba (5-2) aren’t far behind. Two more Round Robin games on Friday will determine playoff spots, and if any tiebreakers need to be played. Follow all the action from Edmonton by also following the local organizing committee on Facebook and Twitter.