A Canadian Mixed title hasn’t been brought home to Northern Ontario in nearly a decade, and Bryan Burgess wants to change that.
Burgess’ team out of Thunder Bay, Ont., finished its round-robin with a 5-1 record after a close 4-2 win over Team Alberta’s Andrew Hodgson (3-3; Airdrie) Wednesday afternoon at the 2026 Canadian Mixed Curling Championship.
“The team’s been playing great all week,” said Burgess. “We had a little bit of a slow start, but just like anywhere, you have to get all used to the ice. Once we got the confidence going, we’ve been making shots.”
Burgess is joined on the ice by vice-skip Oye-Sem Won, second Mike McCarville and lead Rebecca Carr. The Fort William Curling Club foursome will move into the Championship Pool with a 5-1 record, putting itself in a strong position heading into the next stage of the competition.
Northern Ontario’s last Canadian Mixed title came in 2017, when Trevor Bonot skipped the team to gold. The Fort William Curling Club also produced a silver-medal team in 2022.
McCarville was part of that 2022 team, which finished second to Québec’s Félix Asselin. Asselin returns this year with the same lineup.
The afternoon’s matchup saw a few opportunities for Alberta to score multiple points. Notably, in the fourth end, Burgess was up against five opposing stones in the house when it was time to throw his last rock.
“That was very, very scary,” said Burgess. “That was the game. If I don’t make that roll, he gets a hit for five. Luckily, I made it. [Hodgson] still had a shot for three, but he was just a little wide and we snuck out holding him to one.”
The next pressure-packed moment came in the eighth end when Burgess stepped into the hack with the game on the line. Burgess delivered a double takeout to clear both opposing stones and score three points.
“I think it’s just believing in each other,” said Burgess when asked what’s been keeping his team so strong. “We haven’t played together much. We put this team together last year, and I think it’s just believing in each other and being confident, and when we miss, we’re okay with it. We just move on.”
Burgess and Asselin finished the round robin with the top two spots in Pool A, with Asselin’s team undefeated at 6-0. The Northern Ontario team’s only loss came against Québec on Monday.
“It would be unbelievable,” said Burgess of ending Northern Ontario’s title drought. “I mean, if we can somehow get to the final and win that, that would be an unbelievable feeling for the team in Northern Ontario, for sure.”
Joining Northern Ontario and Québec in the Championship Pool are Team Saskatchewan’s Tyler Hartung (3-3; Regina) and Team Alberta.
In Pool B, Team Nova Scotia’s Brent MacDougall (5-1; Halifax), Team New Brunswick’s Sylvie Quillian (5-1; Moncton), Team British Columbia’s Josh Miki (5-1; White Rock), and Team Manitoba’s Colin Kurz (3-3; Winnipeg) also advance to the Championship Pool.
The next stage of pool play begins Thursday morning, with teams moving into the Championship Pool and Seeding Pool. Play continues through Friday, with the top four teams in the Championship Pool advancing to Saturday’s playoffs.
Action from the 2026 Canadian Mixed Curling Championship will continue Thursday with draws at 9 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 4 p.m., and 7:30 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.
The French version of this story will be posted as soon as possible at https://www.curling.ca/fr/nouvelles-media/
