Men’s Curling goes to gold medal game

Team BC curlers finished their round robin play and began playoff play on Friday at Pidherney Curling Centre.

In the morning session, both teams squared off with Alberta in the final draw of the tournament (Draw 12) of the tournament. The women’s team of Gracelyn Richards (Courtenay), Keelie Duncan (Comox), Chanelle Meeres (Courtenay), and Bryn Woloshyn (Royston) got off to an early 1–0 lead after the first end, but Alberta came on strong after that and took the game 6–1. The loss ended the team’s competition, as they finish outside of the playoff picture with a 3–7 record.

The team of Hayato Sato (Coquitlam), Joshua Miki (Port Coquitlam), Dawson Ballard (Surrey), and Troy Chong (Burnaby) headed into the game against Alberta with a chance to secure a bye to the semifinals with a win. It was a back and forth game for Team BC, but strong fifth and sixth ends pushed them beyond Alberta to take the game 7–5 in seven ends. With the win, Team BC finished in first place in the round robin with a 9–1 record and received a bye to the seminfinal.

In the semifinal, the men’s team played a dramatic game against Manitoba. It was a rematch against the only team that beat them in the round robin. Manitoba got off to a hot start, stealing a single point in the second and third ends. However, Team BC came right back with a three point fourth end to take a 3–2 lead into the half. After some back and forth play, as well as some incredible shots on both sides, Team BC took a 5–4 lead into the eighth end with Manitoba owning the hammer. The men’s team managed to keep Manitoba to a single point, forcing an extra end. It was a tense end, but Team BC scored a single point with the hammer to claim the victory, sending them to the gold medal game. 

The men’s team will go for the gold medal against Ontario at 10:00 am on Saturday. British Columbia has never won a gold medal in men’s curling at the Canada Games.