Curling teams jockey for position on Day Three
Women's Championship
Day three marked the midway point of the CCAA Curling Canada Championships, and the first matches of the day reaffirmed that anything can happen.
The Humber Hawks and Concordia Thunder were undefeated after three draws, but both suffered losses to start the day. NAIT jumped out to an early lead over Humber, and although the Hawks kept things close, the Ooks held on for a 6-4 victory. On the flip side, the Augustana Vikings handed it to the Thunder, closing CUE out after six ends with a score of 15-1.
The Douglas Royals continued their push for a repeat, defeating the Fanshawe Falcons 7-2. The Sault Cougars then got themselves in the win column with a 10-4 victory over the Red Deer Queens.
In the afternoon Draw, teams were jockeying for position in the standings, needing wins in their push for the playoffs. Concordia thundered back from their poor performance, downing the Sault Cougars 6-3, to end the day in a tie for first. The other team at the top, the Douglas Royals, roared past the Humber Hawks 11-4 thanks to a six-point seventh end.
In the closest match of the Draw, the Ooks secured their second win of the day, besting the Augustana Vikings 5-3. NAIT’s pair of victories moved them into the top half of the leaderboard. The Red Deer Queens also kept their medal hopes alive with an 11-5 win over the Fanshawe Falcons.
Men's Championship
Like the women’s competition, the majority of the men’s teams find themselves with a shot at advancing past the round robin stage. The undefeated Fanshawe Falcons continued their impressive play with a 10-2 victory over the Concordia Thunder. The SAIT Trojans and Humber Hawks also had dominant wins over the Sault Cougars and Confederation Thunderhawks respectively.
In contrast, the NAIT Ooks and Lakeland Rustlers battled it out in a much closer contest. NAIT jumped out to a 6-0 lead after three ends but Lakeland responded with three in the fourth. The teams traded singles in the sixth and seventh ends before the Rustlers pulled within one with two points in the eight. Lakeland then stole one in the ninth to tie up the match, but NAIT clinched the 8-7 victory in the final end.
The evening draw was highlighted by scoring swings and extra ends. The Sault Cougars were aggressive, posting multi point leads, three separate times over Fanshawe. The Falcons managed to even things up each time and eventually forced extra ends. Fanshawe scored three in the extra frame and maintained their perfect record with an 11-8 win over Sault.
Lakeland looked like they might cruise to their first victory of the tournament, after jumping out to a 5-0 lead over SAIT through the first four. However, the Trojans countered by scoring seven through the next four ends. The resilient Rustlers regained the lead in the ninth but SAIT forced extra ends by evening things up in the tenth. Undeterred, Lakeland notched their first win, 9-8, on the final shot in the eleventh.
The NAIT Ooks appeared to have things in hand with a conservative 3-1 lead over Humber through six. However, the Hawks came to life down the stretch, scoring a pair of points in each of the next three ends, soaring to a 7-3 victory. The Concordia Thunder rounded out the day with a 10-3 win over the Confederation Thunderhawks.
Standings After Day Three
|
Women's Teams |
Record |
Men's Teams |
Record |
|
Douglas Royals |
4-1 |
Fanshawe Falcons |
5-0 |
|
Concordia Thunder |
4-1 |
Humber Hawks |
4-1 |
|
NAIT Ooks |
3-2 |
Concordia Thunder |
3-2 |
|
Humber Hawks |
3-2 |
NAIT Ooks |
3-2 |
|
Red Deer Queens |
2-3 |
SAIT Trojans |
2-3 |
|
Augustana Vikings |
2-3 |
Sault Cougars |
2-3 |
|
Fanshawe Falcons |
1-4 |
Lakeland Rustlers |
1-4 |
|
Sault Cougars |
1-4 |
Confederation Thunderhawks |
0-5 |
