More than half way home!

Day three of the U SPORTS/Curling Canada Championships saw everyone hit the ice twice once again as teams jockeyed for position with the round robin portion of the Championship passing the halfway point.

On the women’s side, it was two different ends of the spectrum as a morning draw that saw almost every game come down to the final stone gave way to an afternoon draw that featured predominantly lopsided affairs while the men’s draws seemed to follow the same storylines.  After it all, no team has officially clinched a playoff position while every team is still mathematically in the picture.

In the first game off the ice in the morning, UPEI scored back-to-back deuces in the eighth and ninth ends to open up what was an extremely tight affair, downing Victoria 6-3.  On the strength of a deuce, a three-ender, and a four-ender, TMU outlasted Alberta 10-9.  Laurentian waited until the final end to put up the games first crooked number but made it count, beating Dalhousie 5-4 as a result of the deuce.  The final game was easily the most dramatic as Memorial stole a single in ten to force an extra end and proceeded to steal the win away from McMaster, 7-6.

In the afternoon draw, Dalhousie battled back from an early deficit to Alberta to tie things late and proceeded to steal a single in nine and three more in ten to earn a 9-5 victory.  After opening up a 4-0 lead, Memorial used a massive 6-point eighth end to force early handshakes, downing UPEI 11-2.  McMaster essentially ended Victoria’s playoff hopes as, on the strength of a pair of three-enders, they defeated the Vikes 9-3.  In the final game on the ice, it was TMU handing Laurentian their first lost of the championship with a 6-5 extra-end victory.

On the men’s side in the afternoon draw, Laurentian picked up a steal of two in the fifth end and rode that to a 7-5 win over UNB for their third straight win.  Dalhousie used a string of three deuces in a row in the sixth, seventh, and eighth ends to springboard them to an 8-4 win over Alberta while, in the battle of two winless teams, it was Calgary who opened the game with a steal of two and never looked back, downing Saint Mary’s 10-5.  In the rematch of the OUA title game, Laurier had a textbook game, answering every Queen’s single with two or more of their own en route to a 10-7 win. 

In the evening draw, Saint Mary’s finally got into the win column as they edged in front at the wire, scoring one in the tenth to beat Alberta 7-6 in a back and forth contest.  Queen’s flipped the script from the afternoon and scored multiple points in four different ends as they beat UNB 9-4 while, on the strength of a big four-ender in the fifth, Calgary handed Dalhousie their first loss, 8-3.  In the final game of the night, Laurier was clinical once again, scoring four deuces in the game while holding Laurentian to singles on three different occasions for an 8-5 win.

The round robin concludes tomorrow as all 16 teams will once again hit the ice for two games with every team fighting for a spot in the final four.

WOMEN’S STANDINGS

1 Laurentian Voyageurs 4-1

2 Dalhousie Tigers 3-2

3 Toronto Metropolitan University Bold 3-2

4 Memorial Sea-Hawks 3-2

5 Alberta Pandas 2-3

6 McMaster Marauders  2-3

7 Prince Edward Island Panthers 2-3

8 Victoria Vikes 1-4

MEN’S STANDINGS

1 Dalhousie Tigers 4-1

2 Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks 4-1

3 Laurentian Voyageurs 3-2

4 Queen’s Golden Gaels 2-3

5 Alberta Golden Bears 2-3

6 New Brunswick Reds 2-3

7 Calgary Dinos 2-3

8 Saint Mary’s Huskies 1-4

Day Three starts to paint the playoff picture at the CCAA Curling Canada Championships 

Women’s Championship

Teams were vying to improve their playoff odds as the 2023 CCAA Curling Canada Championships reached the midway point. The Humber Hawks did just that with a morning draw victory over the Augustana Vikings. The match was tied up after six, but the Hawks scored three over the next two ends. Despite a single from the Vikings in the ninth the Hawks held on to win 6-4 and improve their record to 3-1.

The SAIT Trojans and Sault Cougars also played an entertaining contest that saw SAIT score two in the final frame to secure the victory 7-4. The undefeated Niagara Knights and Concordia Thunder continued their march to the playoffs with wins over the Fanshawe Falcons (8-2) and Red Deer Queens (11-7) respectively.

Following the afternoon draw, only the Niagara Knights remain undefeated on the Women’s side of the Championship. Their opponents, the Sault Cougars played admirably behind a chorus of cheers from the stands, winning half of the ends. However, the Knights posted a couple of big scores early, earning the 14-4 victory, and now take a 5-0 record into the weekend.

Another match of consequence saw Humber pull even with Concordia in the standings at 4-1. The Hawks were behind early but stole six points to down the Thunder 7-2. Augustana kept their playoff hopes alive with their 14-8 win over SAIT and Red Deer moved above .500 by defeating Fanshawe 11-2.

Men’s Championship

The Men’s early draw featured two matches that came down to the last stone. The Mohawk Mountaineers were hoping to get back in the win column after a tough defeat the night before, but the Augustana Vikings stood in their way. The Vikings controlled the first half of the game forcing the Mountaineers to chip away at their lead. Tied at five in the final end the teams did their best to claim the button, but a close inspection of the stones resulted in a steal and victory for Mohawk.

The SAIT Trojans looked to be in firm control of their match with the Concordia Thunder but CUE managed to pull within one by posting three in the ninth. The Thunder hoped to force an extra end with a steal, but SAIT drew to the button to earn a single point and the 8-6 victory. The Humber Hawks and Sault Cougars dictated their contests on route to wins over the NAIT Ooks (9-0) and Fleming Knights (12-2).

Similar to the women’s pool, only one men’s team remained unbeaten at the end of the day. Concordia looked to spoil Humber’s perfect record, scoring three out of the gate before losing the lead. In the eighth end the Hawks held a slight 6-5 edge, but CUE navigated a wall of guards to claim shot rock with their last stone. Undaunted, Humber used the hammer to clear Concordia from the house, doubling their score and preserving their winning streak.

Sault also entered this draw without a loss, but Mohawk set the tone early in their matchup, winning the first five sets. Sault earned a few back but the deficit proved to be too much and the Mountaineers won the match 10-4, pulling even with the Cougars in the standings. Augustana got in the win column by beating NAIT 8-3 while SAIT moved up into fourth place with an 8-3 victory over Fleming. 

Standings After Day Three

Women’s Teams	Record	Men’s Teams	Record
Niagara Knights	5-0	Humber Hawks	5-0
Humber Hawks	4-1	Mohawk Mountaineers	4-1
Concordia Thunder	4-1	Sault Cougars	4-1
Red Deer Queens	3-2	SAIT Trojans	3-2
Augustana Vikings	2-3	Concordia Thunder	2-3
SAIT Trojans	1-4	Augustana Vikings	1-4
Fanshawe Falcons	1-4	NAIT Ooks	1-4
Sault Cougars	0-5	Fleming Knights	0-5

More Information:

Championship Website https://www.curling.ca/2023college/ 

Live Scoring  https://www.curling.ca/scoreboard/#!/competitions/8168 

Photos https://ccaasportsacsc.smugmug.com/2023-CCAA-Curling-Canada-Championships