Adam Arsenault secured his first national win as a skip Monday afternoon on home ice at the 2026 Canadian Mixed Curling Championship and broke the host province’s losing streak.
Arsenault, along with vice-skip Breanne Burgoyne, second Jamie Stride and lead Terri Wood, got off to a rocky start on Sunday with two back-to-back losses at the West Prince Curling Club in Woodstock, P.E.I., but Monday’s 8-7 win over Team Northwest Territories’ Betti Delorey (0-3; Hay River) took some pressure off.
Arsenault recently took over as skip and was still searching for his first national victory in the position.
Team P.E.I., curling out of the Crapaud Community Curling Club, squeaked by in a tight extra-end finish, despite opening the game with four points in the first end.
“It took a little bit of pressure off at the start, but then they started etching back up,” said Arsenault. “We tend to always find ourselves without the hammer a lot. So, once we went with the hammer, we struggled. They were kind of playing our game back at us.”
Delorey’s squad responded and found three points of their own before the fourth end break to get the game within one, but trouble came back for them when P.E.I. was set up to score big in the fifth end.
With only one opposing stone sitting in the rings, Arsenault had an opportunity to extend his lead. However, his attempt to remove it sent a rock crashing into a pile of his own stones. Nonetheless, P.E.I. managed to remove the opposing stone from the house and score another three points.
A strong sweep by Team Northwest Territories’ second, Halli Delorey, helped get her team back in the game with a double in the sixth end.
In the seventh end, Arsenault was facing a potential steal of three when he threw his last rock. Looking to draw between two opposing stones just biting at the 12-foot, Arsenault’s stone barely nicked a guard and crashed, stopping in line with his opponent’s. Officials measured to confirm it was a steal of only one.
Another steal of one in the eighth end sent the game to an extra end, with the crowd at the West Prince Curling Club watching closely.
“I try not to look up,” said Arsenault. “For me to look into the crowd, I’m just going to throw my brain off. It’s so fun to be here on the national stage and to represent P.E.I. at home, and we certainly gave everybody a game, but the nerves of the end of that game was overwhelming.”
In the extra end, the Islanders had two rocks buried under cover early. While the Northwest Territories’ skip Betti Delorey made an angle run to pick one of them out, her second rock undercurled through the house and sealed the win for the host province.
“I felt more pressure for that game than the first two on Sunday. I felt like we had a good read on the ice today,” said Arsenault. “I feel amazing; I always love not having to throw my last rock.”
Around the rink Monday afternoon, Team British Columbia’s Josh Miki (2-1; White Rock) downed Team New Brunswick’s Sylvie Quillian (2-1; Moncton) 6-3 and Team Saskatchewan’s Tyler Hartung (2-1; Regina) outplayed Team Newfoundland & Labrador’s Scott Eaton (2-1; St. John’s) 7-3. Meanwhile, Team Ontario’s Cory Heggestad (1-2; Innisfil) took down Team Nunavut’s Peter Mackey (0-3; Iqaluit) 9-2 in six ends.
Recapping Monday evening, Team New Brunswick dominated Team Northwest Territories 14-1 while Team Alberta’s Andrew Hodgson (1-1; Airdrie) came out with a 6-5 win against Team Ontario. Team Newfoundland & Labrador outplayed Team Nunavut 6-4 and Team Nova Scotia’s Brent MacDougall (2-0; Halifax) beat Team British Columbia’s Josh Miki (2-1; White Rock) 7-5.
With just two games in action Monday morning, Team Québec’s Félix Asselin (2-0; Dollard-des-Ormeaux) bested Team Northern Ontario’s Bryan Burgess (1-1; Thunder Bay) 9-6 and Team Manitoba’s Colin Kurz (2-0; Winnipeg) stayed perfect with an 8-4 win over Team Yukon’s Scott Williamson (0-2; Whitehorse).
Action from the 2026 Canadian Mixed Curling Championship will continue Tuesday with draws at 10 a.m., 2 p.m., and 6 p.m. (all times Atlantic).
For the 2026 Canadian Mixed Curling Championship live results, click here.
For the full event schedule, click here.
For ticket information, click here.
