Leaders start to emerge on Day 3 of The Dominion Curling Club Championship

It was another exciting day of curling action at The Dominion Curling Club Championship taking place in Thunder Bay, Ont. Women’s Draw 7 – Friendly rivalry Team Prince Edward Island was determined to persevere without their skip again this morning and held SK to two in the fourth to tie it up; however, the game slipped away from them in the second half and they lost 3-6. Despite their loss, PE felt good about their game play. It was a tight game for long time TDCCC friends, NU and NL. Nerves were high in the first end when NU’s skip drew to cut down NL from five points to one. NU continued their momentum, taking three in the second and holding NL to one in the third and fourth, to tie up the game. The back and forth continued into an extra end. NU’s final stone was one foot short on their angle raise to the four, so NL didn’t have to throw their last rock. After the game, both teams hugged and patted each other’s backs – the picture of true sportsmanship. Final 7-6 for NL. Both centre sheets had blowout games, with MB winning 10-3 against NT and YT winning 9-2 against NB. ON and QC also tied it up after the fourth and sixth ends, but ON pulled ahead in the seventh with two and ended up not having to throw their last rock in the eighth, for a final score of 6-4. After trailing by four points to AB after the fourth, BC came back to score four points in ends five to seven, but it wasn’t enough; BC watched with bated breath in the eighth as the AB skip’s last stone came in hot and outside, but they managed to tick off an outside rock in the top eight, to roll and stop on the four foot for two points. Final 7-6 for AB Men’s Draw 8 – By a measure Sitting at 0-2 in the standings, NT took 1-2 MB in seven ends. Final score was 7-2 for the NT men. Handshakes were in order after YT picked up 3 more points in the seventh end to lead against the NB men. Final score was also 7-2. NL managed to keep ahead of NU after completing a tap for three in the fourth end and then a steal of one more in the fifth end. In the last three ends, each team traded deuces. NL edged an 8-7 victory. Tied with ON at 4-4, QC played a double takeout to blank the seventh end and keep the hammer. In the eighth, centre line guards were placed and removed until QC missed. ON drew around their centre line guard to sit buried on the button. On the final shot the QC skip completed a spectacular double raise takeout to remove the ON rock from the button area. Final score for was 6-4 for QC. The 3-0 SK men met their match against 1-1 PE Wednesday afternoon. SK had an opportunity to sink the Islanders in the seventh sitting with four counters around the house, but the PE skip calmly drew in for one to tie the game. In the eighth end light draws and nose hits by both teams resulted in several centre line guards. PE finally drew behind the guards and sat at the back of the four foot. With last rock, SK followed the same path and ended up glancing slightly off the PE rock. PE defeated SK on the measure. Final score was 6-5. Women’s Draw 9 – Measurement, please! It was a tight game between the MB and NB women, until MB pulled ahead in the seventh after officials confirmed their second point. MB ran NB out of rocks in the eighth, for a final score of 7-4. MB improves to 5-0 while NB is still looking for their first win. In a contest between teams who entered Draw 9 with identical 1-2 records, NS topped PE by an 8-4 score in seven ends. PE played once again without their skip Sharon Horne who has yet to see action due to illness. YT controlled their game against BC early and took a 4-1 lead into the fourth end break. BC rallied in the fifth with a deuce. The turning point of the game came in the seventh end: BC made an open hit and stick for four, and took a 7-6 lead. YT’s skip attempted a tough double takeout with last rock in the eighth end, but took only one point to force an extra end. They executed a textbook strategy to steal with two centre guards protecting a rock in the top eight foot. A key shot came from BC’s vice: she made a double peel off the guards and pushed the shot rock to the back 12 foot. BC picked up their second victory as their skip drew for the win. On sheet 4, NL trailed SK the entire game. NL drew to the button in the sixth to get their first point and then shook for a final score of 7-1. NO picked up the ice in the fourth and scored three to get back into the game. In the eighth, NT ran NO out of rocks in the eighth end for their first win. Final score was 6-3; the ladies were ecstatic! No player knows as much about TDCCC as Geneva Chislett and her NU team: They have played in all 5 TDCCC Championships! Trailing QC 6-1 after four ends, NU mounted a comeback and scored singles in each of the next four ends. In the eighth end, confident she was (barely) sitting second shot, the QC skip threw her last rock through, and it paid off: officials measured to determine she was right. Final score 6-5 for QC. Men’s Draw 10 – #happybirthday The NB men’s team gave skip Chris Jeffrey the perfect gift for his birthday on Tuesday – a first victory over MB, the second-place team from last year’s event. NB came out on fire jumping to a 5-0 lead after two ends. MB made quite a comeback: tying the game at 6-6 by scoring three points in the seventh end. Jeffrey made a quiet hit and stick in the eighth end to score one and secure the win. In the months leading up to TDCCC, Jeffrey has taken to tweeting humorous comments about his team. Twitter will certainly be buzzing tonight! #nailbiter Atlantic bragging rights were on the line as NS and PE faced off. NS scored 3 points in both the third and fifth ends on their way to an 8-1 win. It is official: NS fans are the loudest! YT improved to 4-1 with an 8-2 victory over BC. YT men were stealing machines. In a close game, SK defeated NL. The turning point was in the seventh end where SK scored two to break the tie on their way to an 8-5 win. NT had steals in the third, fourth and fifth ends, beating NO 5-3 to even their record at 2-2. QC was an offensive powerhouse in their battle with NU, with the score 6-0 after two ends. They shook hands after six ends for an impressive 11-2 victory. Live scoring can be viewed www.curling.ca/scoreboard/ About The Dominion Curling Club Championship: The Dominion Curling Club Championship is an annual event for men’s and women’s curling teams who have won their respective local club championships. Winning teams from each club play down to produce a provincial/territorial champion from all ten provinces and three territories, plus a separate entry for Northern Ontario, who will then compete at the national level. The event raises funds in support of Spinal Cord Injury (SCI). Their mission is to assist persons with spinal cord injuries and other physical disabilities achieve independence, self-reliance and full community participation. Over the past four years, the event has raised over $300,000 for SCI chapters across Canada and wheelchair curling. To learn more, visit thedominioncurls.ca