Birchard one win from gold, glory

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 11/02/2012 (5173 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

One team gets a chance to rest up, while the other team gets a chance to refocus.

That’s how the two Manitoba entries at 2012 Canadian Junior Curling Championships are looking at things following impressive round-robin showings in Napanee, Ont. this week.

The Manitoba women, skipped by Shannon Birchard, is through to tonight’s final (6 p.m., TSN) after coming from behind and beating Yukon’s Sarah Koltun 8-7 Friday afternoon. The win pushed Manitoba (10-2) into a first-place tie with Alberta, but the Keystone curlers get the bye to the championship game thanks to a 9-5 win over Alberta earlier in the week.

“It’s pretty unbelievable, it’s an amazing feeling right now,” said Birchard, minutes after stepping off the ice Friday. “We’ve played some really strong games this week. One of our best games was against Alberta. At that time, we really kind of came together.

“I mean, we played really well against all the top teams, but that was an important game. It’s why we’re sitting at No. 1 right now.”

Manitoba — featuring third Selena Kaatz (who throws fourth rocks for the team), second Kristin MacCuish and lead Moriah Mondor — awaits the winner of today’s Alberta-B.C. semifinal (1 p.m.).

Getting the afternoon off is what Birchard was hoping for coming into Friday’s action. Though a playoff spot was assured, the 17-year-old sensed fatigue was starting to sink into her St. Vital rink, and she wasn’t keen on having to play an extra game if she didn’t have to.

Manitoba was down 7-6 after eight ends against Yukon, but scraped together singles in the final two frames to earn the first-place finish.

“I think we were a little nervous and a little tired going into the game,” Birchard said. “It’s nice to get that bye. It’s been a long week. Twelve games, that’s a lot of curling. One more to go, though.”

Over on the junior men’s side, Kyle Doering’s West Kildonan rink needs to take an extra step before reaching the playoff round.

Finishing at 9-3 and in a three-way logjam for second place, the Manitoba champ is back on the ice versus Nova Scotia in a tiebreaker this afternoon (1 p.m.), with the winner advancing to the semifinal against Northern Ontario Sunday (1 p.m.).

Doering, who is joined by third Colton Lott, second Derek Oryniak and lead Lucas Van Den Bosch, could have clinched second place and berth in the semi with a win over Yukon’s Thomas Scoffin Friday but his team came out a little tight, trailing 3-0 after four ends and eventually losing by a 5-4 score.

Doering remained positive about the situation after the game. His team is not going home yet, he said, plus first-place Alberta (11-1) will be off the ice for roughly 55 hours before the final — and that’s a lot of time between matches.

“It is disappointing that we didn’t clinch a playoff berth, but we’re still in a good position,” said the Garden City Collegiate student. “We just have to win one game and we’re right back where we want to be.

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“We struggled (Friday). It might not be a bad thing to get back on the ice (today).”

The junior men’s final goes Sunday at 6 p.m. (TSN).

The winners of the 2012 Canadian Junior Curling Championships will represent Canada at the World Juniors in Ostersund, Sweden (March 3-11).

adam.wazny@freepress.mb.ca