Vikings & Hawks are CCAA Curling Canada Champions

National Championship Matches

The Augustana Vikings women curlers and Humber Hawks men's team are the 2023 CCAA Curling Canada Champions. Augustana and Humber will raise the first CCAA Curling banners since the championship last took place in March of 2020.

The women's final between Augustana and the Niagara Knights unfolded like a chess match with both teams calculating every move. Niagara opened the scoring with a pair in the first followed by two blank ends. Augustana then scored singles for three straight ends followed by another two from the Knights. Augustana tied things up in the ninth leading to the decisive tenth end. The Vikings then managed a steal to secure the 5-4 win and the national championship. This is the fourth curling medal for the Augustana Vikings program, but its first CCAA Championship. Niagara's silver medals were not only the first for their women's team but the first time on the CCAA Curling podium for the varsity program.

The men's gold medal match started out with Humber and the SAIT Trojans trading points and a blank end before the Hawks put the pressure on through ends four, five and six. Up by six heading into the eighth, Humber added another to close out the match 10-3. The Humber Men are now two-time CCAA Curling Champions, including their 2016 win, while SAIT's Silver Medals mark the team's first CCAA Curling accolade since winning Gold in 1986

Bronze Medal Matches

The Concordia Thunder women and Mohawk Mountaineers men captured the Bronze Medals at the 2023 CCAA Curling Canada Championships.

The Thunder found themselves down early to the Humber Hawks and again right after the break. After blanking the seventh the Thunder scored a crucial four points in the eighth and stole another in the ninth to put the match out of reach in the final end. The 8-4 win earned CUE their second women's team medal and fourth for the program.

The Mohawk men had been among the top performers throughout the competition and demonstrated their strengths in the bronze medal game. The Mountaineers dictated the match against an opponent they know well. The Sault Cougars were still within striking distance after six ends, but Mohawk pulled away for a 9-3 win and the bronze medals. Mohawk's men's curling program now has three CCAA medals in total.

Semi-final Matches

The day began with some exciting and surprising semi-final matches as the top seed in both the women and men's draws fell to the fourth seeds.

Niagara jumped out to an early lead against their semi-final opponents, CUE, but the Thunder kept chipping away and were within one with one to play. Holding the hammer in the tenth, Niagara prevented back-to-back steals by Concordia to win 7-6 and advance for a chance at Gold.

The Humber women's team came up against a fiery Augustana crew that put up multi point scores across several ends, including four in the second. The deficit was 9-3 after seven, and despite a pair from the Hawks in the eighth the Vikings advanced to the final with an 11-5 victory.

The Men's playoff also featured an inspiring effort from a fourth seeded team from the ACAC. SAIT put up two points in each of the first three ends, surprising the top seeded Mountaineers. Mohawk then mounted a comeback scoring five of their own to make the score 6-5 going into the break. Unphased, the Trojans scored another four through ends 6, 7, and 8 and held off Mohawk's steal attempts in the tenth to win 10-7.

Humber and Sault's men's teams met in a rematch of their final round-robin matchup from the previous night. Every time the Cougars pulled within a point or two of the Hawks, Humber would put up a few more, including three in the eighth to win the match 8-4.

Awards

The top female and male performers were honoured following the competition during the Championship Victory Banquet. 

Championship Website

Results

Photos