Last Week in BC Curling: 2nd Week of 26/27

The week that was:

First of all, apologies are owed to Team Harris, who were accidentally left off the list of teams starting their season this past weekend in the last newsletter. Sorry about that! 

This past weekend had lots of action in Alberta, a sprinkling of Ontario, and the first BC Junior tour event of the year. Let’s start with that one:  

Junior Recap

The Anita Cochrane Memorial (Sep 18-20)

On the ladies’ side, Team Yuen-Hogeboom takes the title with a 5-2 victory over Team Westenenk, capping an undefeated event as the team went 6-0 overall. 

The boys’ final saw Team Jaeger nip Team Hrynew 6-5 in the final – an identical result to their earlier round-robin game.  

Men’s Recap

It was a relatively quiet weekend for the men, with only two teams in action, both in Edmonton:

Saville Grand Prix (Sep 18-21) 

Team Miki (Josh Miki, Mat Fenton and Branden Reimer) made their debut for the season, playing as a trio and finishing 1-3 in pool play and DNQ for the playoffs.  

Team Kopytko couldn’t capitalize on the momentum from a strong previous event and went 1-3 and DNQ for the playoffs. 

Women’s Recap

AMJ Shorty Jenkins (Sep 16-20)

Team MacMillan was the only BC based team competing in this event. They went 3-2 and just missed out on the playoffs. Their losses came against Team Skrlik and eventual champions Team Paetz. 

Saville Grand Prix (Sep 18-21)

Team Reese-Hansen had a 2-2 record, with 1-point losses to Sluchinski and Gray-Withers (in an extra) which kept them out of the playoffs. 

Team Hafeli (Holly Hafeli, Julia Markle, Emma Woike and Maya Belway) went 1-3 in their first event of the season. 

Team Harris (Mahra Harris, Meredith Cole, Sasha Wilson and Katelyn McGillivray) also went 1-3 while making their season debut. 

Team Prokopowich (Lane Prokopowich, Gabby Brissette, Ashley Mallet and Sophie Brissette) experienced some growing pains, marking their first appearance this season, with a winless weekend, finishing 0-4.

Coming Attractions:

This upcoming weekend is very quiet as most teams have taken the weekend off. With the Vernon event on the horizon – and many of the teams competing there for a potential Grand Slam of Curling berth – it makes sense to utilize this weekend to recharge. 

Team Blandford is the lone BC team in action and will be competing against a strong field at the Okotoks Classic in… you guessed it, Okotoks, Alberta.

Boomer’s choice for game of the week:

There were a few good games to choose from this week.  

The MacMillan/Skrlik match was a fun one, but the angles of the cameras are pretty rough, so it’s not the greatest viewing experience [we still watched it though].  

There were a couple of nail-biters featuring Reese-Hansen against Sluchinski and Gray-Withers, but we featured them last week, so Boomer has picked this fun little match between Team Harris and Team Nihira. 

Check it out here: Miku Nihira vs. Mahra Harris – Draw 3 – Saville Grand Prix [8] – YouTube 

That does it for Last Week in BC Curling. We’ll be back next week with a quick recap and a look ahead to the Vernon Prestige Curling Classic, which is pulling double duty as the first BC Tour event (non-Junior division) and a satellite event for the Slams.  

I’ll be heading out to Vernon to take in all the action live and in-person. Be forewarned, BC teams; I have been given a camera and microphone—and rudimentary instructions on how to use it! I am probably going to pester at least a few of you for some quick interviews or other shenanigans. 

Thanks for reading! 

 

Written by Curl BC Correspondent Craig Coyne

Craig is a devoted curling fan and third-rate player who loves watching, talking about, and now writing about the BC Curling community and all the amazing athletes in it. He also has the world’s greatest dog. Just ask him!