Women, men set for New Year’s Eve rematches in junior curling final

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This article was published 31/12/2014 (4223 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

After battling in the morning, the last two Canadian junior men’s curling champions are set to face each other for a second time on New Year’s Eve.

This time, the provincial junior championship is on the line.

After winning the afternoon semifinal, reigning national champ Braden Calvert will meet 2013 Canadian victor Matt Dunstone in the final of the 2015 Canola provincials at 4 p.m. at Assiniboine Memorial Curling Club. The game will be be broadcast online at CurlManitoba.org.

Calvert and Dunstone met on Wednesday morning in the 1 vs. 1 page playoff. Team Dunstone took that one in a tight 7-6 win to earn their bye to the final.

Calvert, meanwhile, dropped down to play the semi against Granite skip Cole Peters, who had dispatched Team Hayden Forrester 7-5 in the morning’s 2 vs. 2 page game.

The Canadian champ pounced early on Peters, scoring three in the third to grab an early lead. But Peters hung in the game until the eighth end, when a hammer draw came in light, handing Calvert a steal of two to go up 9-5.

They shook minutes later.

Rematch also on women’s side

On the junior women’s side, another rematch, this one between former two-time Manitoba champion Shannon Birchard and perennial favourite Beth Peterson.

The two faced each other in the 1 vs. 1 game in the morning, and Birchard walked away with it 9-3.

That sent Peterson to the afternoon semifinal, where she won a nailbiter 7-6 in the extra end, after forcing Reid to miss with her hammer.

The teams were tied at five going into the ninth, when Lisa Reid stole a single to take a lead. She did a fine job keeping Peterson’s rocks from the house in the 10th, allowing Peterson only a draw for a single to force the extra end.

But Peterson’s team played the extra end out brilliantly, protecting their shot rock near the button and forcing Reid’s team to make a couple of key mistakes.

With the hammer, Reid searched for a draw for the winning point, but the shot came in heavy and flashed out.

The Reid foursome had advanced to the semifinal after beating Assiniboine’s Rachel Burtnyk 8-6 in the morning 2 vs. 2 game.

The women’s final will be held at the same time as the men’s.