Manitobans set to mix it up in doubles bubble By: Jason Bell Posted: 7:00 PM CDT Wednesday, Mar. 17, 2021

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This article was published 17/03/2021 (1672 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

One of the perceived favourites at the Canadian mixed doubles curling championship is an intriguing twosome from the Interlake without much star power.

Independently, the curling resumes of Kadriana Sahaidak and Colton Lott don’t stack up to those of Olympic, world and national champions set to compete inside the fan-free Calgary bubble.

United, the duo has an established track record of success in mixed doubles — the snappy cousin to traditional, four-player curling — in Canada and abroad.

Sahaidak and Lott reached the medal podium in each of the last two national championship, losing the final in 2018 and falling in the semifinals a year later. They have a combined record of 17-3 in the two playdowns. (The 2020 championship, scheduled for Portage la Prairie, was cancelled owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.)

And two years ago, they won a World Cup event in Sweden, defeating Norway’s Kristin Skaslien and Thomas Ulsrud in the final, and went on to compete on behalf of Canada in Beijing.

Not bad for a pair that tried out mixed doubles on a lark.

“We just came into it together to have some fun, and over the past few years we’ve done really well. Actually, we’ve really started playing more aggressively because our touch game, soft-weight shots, has improved a lot. It’s really helped with our game,” Lott said Wednesday.”

Experience alone in pressure-cooker situations positions them well for the 35-team national championship, which begins Thursday at WinSport Arena, on the grounds of Canada Olympic Park. But Sahaidak, a resident of Gimli, and Lott, who lives just down the road in Winnipeg Beach, are a couple off the ice and there’s an unshakable trust factor, as well.

Plus, they’ve been practising for a few weeks in Petersfield to fine-tune their skills and reaffirm their game plans.

“We just seem to gel. Deciding on shots, particularly, we seem to see the same things and there’s not much debate there. The thrower has confidence in the hack,” Lott said.

There’s a lot on the line at the week-long event, which wraps up with a Page playoff system next Wednesday and Thursday. The eventual champion earn $50,000 from the total purse of $150,000, and also the chance to wear Canadian colours at the 2021 world championship (location and dates still to be determined).

“For as much as we’ve accomplished, we want more,” said Sahaidak. “We don’t push ourselves too hard but we know we can get to an even higher level than we are now, and we just hope to show that (here) and make it to the playoffs, for sure.

“But we tell ourselves at every event, ‘Just go out and have fun, don’t get down on ourselves if a game goes bad, brush it off and get ready for the next one.'”

Lott and Sahaidak open against the Ontario duo of Clancy Grandy and Patrick Janssen on Thursday’s 9:30 a.m. draw.

“But we tell ourselves at every event, ‘Just go out and have fun, don’t get down on ourselves if a game goes bad, brush it off and get ready for the next one.'”
– Kadriana Sahaidak

The field comprises 14 teams from the provinces and territories, 14 from Canada’s mixed doubles rankings (based on results from 2019-20) and seven top teams that had committed to, but were unable to compete together, in 2020-21.

It’s a veritable who’s who of Canadian curling in the event, which follows closely on the heels of the Scotties Tournament of Hearts and Brier.

Every member of Kerri Einarson’s two-time women’s championship team is in the field. The skipper is aligned with three-time Brier champ Brad Gushue, Val Sweeting is playing with Marc Kennedy, Shannon Birchard is partnered with Catlin Schneider, and Briane Meilleur is teamed with Mark Nichols.

The fifth player on the team, Krysten Karwacki, won the 2019 Manitoba crown with Derek Samagalski, second for Mike McEwen’s men’s team — and the twosome is gunning for a national title.

Karwacki returned to Winnipeg for a couple of weeks, while Samagalski, who lives in Carberry, remained in the bubble.

“The experience of being in the bubble, the routine, testing, wellness checks every day, knowing you have to order your food a few days in advance, all those things add up and really help when you’ve been through it,” said Karwacki.

“Getting to already be in the hub, in this environment, will definitely help.”

The Manitobans open against Emma Miskew and Ryan Fry, both of Ontario, on Thursday’s 9:30 p.m. draw.

Brendan Bottcher, who skipped Alberta to a Brier title Sunday, is playing with his fiancée, Bobbie Sauder, former Winnipegger and 2014 Olympic women’s curling champion skip Jennifer Jones is alongside husband Brent Laing, while 2019 national champions Jocelyn Peterman of Winnipeg and Brent Gallant, are engaged and teaming up.

Other Manitobans in the mix are the duo of Selena Njegovan and Reid Carruthers, and Kaitlyn Lawes and her nephew, Connor.

Teams have been split into five pools of seven, with a round-robin in each. Following the preliminary round, 12 teams will advance to the playoff bracket.

Expect plenty of hard-charging offence in these eight-end games.

“That’s one of my favourite things about mixed doubles,” said Karwacki. She will throw the first and fifth rocks, while Samagalski throws the second, third and fourth stones. “It’s very fast-paced and you get right into it from the get-go. There’s definitely no messing around.”

 

jason.bell@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPJasonBell