SASKATOON -- The Bluenose Province proved to be the best at the Canadian U18 Men’s and Women’s Curling Championships in Saskatoon.
Teams from Nova Scotia claimed both national championships on Saturday afternoon, with Cassidy Blades claiming the women’s title and Zach Atherton winning the men’s championship.
It was a perfect run for both rinks, too, as each went 6-0 in the round robin before winning all three of their playoff games.
Blades and her Halifax-based rink of Stephanie Atherton, second Anna MacNutt and lead Lily Mitchell battled to a rollercoaster 8-7 win over Alberta’s Abby Desmoreau, third Molly Whitbread, second Camryn Adams and lead Savannah Dutka to claim their gold medals.
Blades got off to a fantastic start, picking up a deuce in the second end, holding Desmoreau to a single point in the third and then adding another three in the fourth to lead 5-1.
Desmoreau got all of that back with a four-ender the very next end, but Blades responded with three of her own in the sixth to take an 8-6 edge. Desmoreau would pick up one in the seventh, and Blades would have an open hit in the four-foot with her final rock in the eighth to secure the championship.
Blades had defeated Ontario’s Katrina Frlan in her semifinal, while Desmoreau scored seven in the seventh end to take a 10-3 win over B.C.’s Ava Arndt.
Frlan defeated Arndt 6-5 to claim the bronze medal.
Moose Jaw’s Kaylee Hogeboom, third Payton Fisher, second Abby Hogeboom, lead Callista McQueen and alternate Kelsey McQueen lost their placement game 9-6 to Northwest Territories’ Reese Wainman.
Saskatoon’s Renee Wood, third Edie Jardine, second Amelia Whiting, lead Winnie Morin and alternate Amy Fradette took an 8-3 win over Manitoba’s Karys Buchalter in their placement game.
Like the women’s final, the men’s championship was a battle of undefeated teams, with Atherton and his Halifax foursome of third Alan Fawcett, second Tyler McCullen and lead Jed Freeman taking a 7-1 win over Ontario’s Tyler MacTavish, third Liam Rowe, second Alec Symeonides and lead Connor Elkins.
Atherton wasted little time taking control of the final, scoring three in the first end and stealing two in the second to quickly build a 5-0 lead. MacTavish got one back in the third, but Atherton picked up a single point in the fifth and stole another in the sixth, bringing the game to an early end.
Atherton downed Alberta’s Peter Hlushak 7-4 in their semifinal, MacTavish defeated Quebec’s Zachary Janidlo 9-4 to qualify for the gold medal game.
Janidlo stole points in the final three ends to take a 6-5 win over Hlushak in the bronze game.
Moose Jaw’s Dayne Heisler, third Blake Montgomery, second Riley Cushway and lead Laine Burnham dropped their placement game 8-2 to Manitoba’s Nash Sugden.
Esterhazy’s Brandon Weiss, third Josh Lussier, second Carter Nelson, lead Elijah Chomos and alternate Tyler Derksen scored four in the final two ends to defeat Alberta’s Austin Hennig in their placement contest.
