ALBERTON-- The opening draw in the Royal Canadian Legion’s 57th annual Dominion Curling Championship is in the books at Western Community Curling Club in Alberton. Seven teams are vying for the national title in a championship, which is hosted by St. Anthony’s Branch 27 in Bloomfield.
Saskatchewan, Manitoba/NW Ontario and Nova Scotia/Nunavut picked up wins in the 2 p.m. draw.
The Saskatchewan game is the only one that lasted until the tenth end.
The Bob Gallaugher BC/Yukon rink from Cowichan Legion Branch 53had taken a 3-1 lead into the fourth end but that is as far as they got. Andrew Hay and his Saskatchewan rink from Nutawa Branch 362 made it 3-2 in the fourth and then reeled off five consecutive singles to lead 7-3 after nine, and then ran Gallaugher out of rocks in the tenth.
A pair of triples in the seventh end brought the other two games to an early end. The Manitoba/Northwestern Ontario team from Deloraine Branch 83, skipped by Blair Goethals downed Rick Cook’s Newfoundland and Labrador team from Stephenville Branch 35 10-3 and the Nova Scotia/Nunavut team, skipped by Steve Elder from Fairview Nova Scotia Branch 142, downed Jim Putnam and his Hudson Legion Branch 115 team from Quebec 9-3.
The Mel Bernard team from Summerside Legion Branch 5, representing the host province, had the opening draw bye. They see action in tonight’s 7 p.m. draw against Newfoundland and Labrador. Also at 7 p.m. Saskatchewan and Manitoba/NW Ontario will meet in a game between 1-0 teams, and 0-1 teams BC/Yukon and Quebec will square off.
