Undefeated Saskatchewan leads the way to playoffs at Canadian wheelchair championship

The playoff match-ups are set at the 2018 Canadian Wheelchair Curling Championship in Leduc after the final round robin draw wrapped up on Friday afternoon in front of a full house in the curling club of the Leduc Recreation Centre. Saskatchewan’s Marie Wright, the 2018 Paralympic bronze medallist, capped off a perfect round robin by defeating New Brunswick’s Michael Fitzgerald 10-3 to claim first place with a 9-0 record. Wright and her Moose Jaw team of Gil Dash, Darwin Bender, Larry Schrader, alternate Moose Gibson with assistant coach Lloyd Thiele and coach Lorraine Arguin, will face fourth-place finisher Newfoundland and Labrador. The St. John’s team led by skip Cecilia Carroll, with third Darlene Jackman, second Felix Green, lead Mel Fitzgerald and coach Leslie Anne Walsh, finished in fourth spot, and despite suffering a 7-3 loss to Alberta’s Jack Smart in the final game of the round robin, earned their place in the semifinals with a 5-4 overall record. The second- and third-place finishers – British Columbia and Manitoba – will face off in the other semifinal. Manitoba skip Dennis Theissen and third Jamie Anseeuw – bronze-medal-winning teammates of Wright’s in Pyeongchang – along with lead Carolyn Lindner, second Mark Wherrett and coach Tom Clasper finished with a 6-3 record after dropping their first three games of the round robin and then reeling off six straight wins. They’ll meet British Columbia’s Darryl Neighbour, Bob McDonald, Gary Cormack, Janice Ing and coach Cody Tanaka, who finished comfortably in second place with a 7-2 record. The semifinals get underway on Saturday at 7 p.m EDT. Follow the game scores on the event website, www.curling.ca/2018wheelchair. The game will also be live streamed by www.cbcsports.ca. Find the broadcast schedule here: www.cbcsports.cahttps://www.cbcsports.ca