Day Three at The Dominion Curling Club Championship

The leaders are starting to emerge at the fourth annual The Dominion Curling Club Championship taking place at the Scarboro Golf and Country Club this week. After Day Three of the round robin competition, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta sit undefeated at the top of the Men’s standings, and Ontario holds the undefeated position in the Women’s, with Manitoba, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia close behind. Draw 7 – Women’s Team Newfoundland and Labrador, skipped by Pam Osborne, won a 7-5 decision over Team Nunavut’s Geneva Chislett.  Nunuvut scored three in the sixth and tried hard for the steal in seven, but came up just short. Boosted by a contingent of enthusiastic fans, Saskatchewan skip Danette Tracey and her team from the Weyburn Curling Club played an aggressive game against PEI’s Nola Murphy. Trailing by 5 after four ends, PEI scored two in the fifth, but couldn’t overcome the Saskatchewan lead. The teams shook after six ends on an 8-2 Saskatchewan victory. In a game of delicate weight shots, Northwest Territories earned a 6-5 victory over previously undefeated Manitoba, skipped by Lori Pelissier. Steals in the fourth and sixth ends allowed Stacey Stabel and her team from Yellowknife to pull ahead. In other Draw 7 action, New Brunswick’s Shannon Tatlock won 11-2 over Yukon’s Jody Smallwood. Team Ontario, skipped by Caroline Deans, scored 4 in the third end on the way to an 8-2 win over Quebec’s Sonia Simard and her team from the Amos Curling Club. Alberta earned a 7-4 win over British Columbia to round out the morning’s action. Draw 8 – Men’s Prince Edward Island started strong against undefeated Saskatchewan, taking the first three ends with a solid start of 4-0. Saskatchewan came back with 5 points over the next three ends, going on to win 7-5. Newfoundland and Labrador took 3 points in the first end and set the tone for a game in which Nunuvut just couldn’t catch up. After seven ends, it was a 9-7 victory for the team from the Remax Centre in St. John’s. Manitoba’s Steve Irwin, tied with Saskatchewan at the top of the leaderboard, took control of the game against Northwest Territories, cruising to a 7-1 victory after six ends. In a back-and-forth game between New Brunswick and Yukon, the Whitehorse Curling Club team was able to steal enough points to take the lead after six close ends and finish with a big 3 points in the eighth, earning a 9-4 victory. In other action, Ontario defeated Quebec 8-4, and Alberta continued its strong play with a 6-2 victory over BC.   Draw 9 – Women’s In a close game that saw an unusual inconclusive measure (i.e. a tie between two rocks), Manitoba scored a 5-2 win over the previously undefeated team from the Beausejour in Moncton, New Brunswick. Marion MacAulay’s Nova Scotia foursome defeated Prince Edward Island, skipped by Nola Murphy, 8-2. BC, skipped by Deb Goodwin, went on a scoring spree and led Jody Smallwood’s Yukon team by a score of 9-3 after four ends. BC continued to dominate, winning with a score of 13-5. In an exciting final end between Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador, the game came down to the final rock, with Weyburn’s Danette Tracey sealing the 6-4 victory. Northern Ontario defeated Northwest Territories with a 10-7 score that saw two 4-enders, one for each team. A strong showing by Quebec’s Sonia Simard led to a 9-2 victory over Nunuvut’s Geneva Chislett. Draw 10 – Men’s In the final draw of the day, leaders Manitoba and Saskatchewan maintained their undefeated status. Manitoba’s Steve Irwin defeated New Brunswick’s Marcel Robichaud 8-1, and Saskatchewan’s Brian Humble scored 3 in the fourth end, then went on to steal singles on his way to a 6-2 victory over Newfoundland and Labrador’s Paul Harvey. Nova Scotia defeated Prince Edward Island with a score of 7-2 after six ends. BC’s Richard Brower took a 6-2 decision over Yukon’s Ray Mikkelsen. A close contest between Northern Ontario’s Russ Mellerup and Northwest Territories’ Paul Delorey was tied 5-5 heading into the eighth end, but a big 3 points put the game away and earned the team from Yellowknife its first win. Quebec’s Richard Faguy scored an 8-3 victory over Nunuvut’s Edmund MacDonald. Overall Standings After three days of round robin competition, the men’s division continues to be dominated by Manitoba (5-0), Saskatchewan (5-0) and Alberta (4-0), with Ontario (3-1) close behind. On the women’s side, Ontario (4-0) remains the only undefeated team, with Manitoba (4-1) and New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Quebec and Alberta – all at 3-1 – still in touch with the leaders. Round robin play continues Thursday, with tie-breakers and semi-finals on Friday, and the championship finals on Saturday at the host Scarboro Golf and Country Club.