Cream rising to top at provincial junior curling playdowns

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This article was published 29/12/2014 (4241 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The top seeds rose quickly at the 2015 provincial junior curling championships, but there is still much to be settled before the playoffs begin.

Sunday night, most of the men’s and women’s favourites were undefeated through four games at Assiniboine Memorial — and those that stumbled are still in the mix, as the top contenders prepare to face each other in the final days of the round robin.

Here’s where it stood, by the time the final rocks were thrown on Sunday night. On the men’s side, the Asham Black group was topped by three undefeated skips: reigning Canadian champion Braden Calvert, Heather’s Hayden Forrester and Portage’s Devon Wiebe. Granite’s Jordan Smith was 3-1 to round out the top half of the group, still with a big chance to fight for a playoff spot.

The other men’s group was also dominated by three undefeated teams; Assiniboine Memorial’s J.T. Ryan and Granite teams skipped by Cole Peters and Colin Kurz. At press time, 2013 Manitoba champion Matt Dunstone, who started 3-0, was down 8-7 going into the 10th end against Swan River’s Carter Watkins.

Meanwhile, in the women’s Asham Black Group, two-time Manitoba champion Shannon Birchard, Assiniboine’s Rachel Burtnyk and Fort Rouge skips Jennifer Klapp and Christine MacKay all opened 4-0, leaving them already the only teams in their group with a chance of making playoffs.

But the other women’s group is shaping up as more of a toss-up. Fort Rouge favourite Beth Peterson is the only undefeated skip in that group, trailed closely by St. Vital’s Lisa Reid and West Kildonan’s Sara Oliver, at 3-1.

The championships showed a surprising early stumble for 2014 finalist Kristy Watling. The East St. Paul skip and her team opened the round robin slowly at 1-2. Sunday night, they trailed Dauphin’s Emma Jensen, but rallied with a four-ender, followed by an eighth-end triple and a steal to win the game 10-5. Watling and West Kildonan’s Jennifer Curle now stand at 2-2 on the week.

The round robin of the 2015 Canola Provincial Junior Curling Championships continue through Tuesday, with playoffs set to start on Tuesday night. The championship games are slated for 1:30 p.m. on New Year’s Eve.

Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter

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