The Canadian Masters Curling Championship got underway on Tuesday in Grande Prairie, Alberta, and it was a strong opening day for Saskatchewan’s women’s representative. At the same time, the province’s men’s team endured a difficult start.
Yorkton’s Cathy Inglis opened the national championship with a perfect 2-0 record, earning victories over Quebec and Alberta to begin play.
Meanwhile, Weyburn’s Jim Nikolejsin came up empty on Day 1, dropping decisions to British Columbia and Alberta.
Inglis and her Yorkton Curling Club team, featuring third Joan McCusker, second Patsy Kuspira and lead Bev Fuches, opened the event with a dramatic 6-5 extra-end win over Quebec.
Saskatchewan came out flying, scoring one with the hammer and then stealing points in each of the next three ends to build a 4-0 lead at the break.
Quebec battled back with one in the fifth before stealing three in the sixth to even the game at 4-4. After the teams traded single points in the seventh and eighth ends, Inglis made full use of the hammer in the extra end, scoring one for the victory.
The Yorkton squad followed that up with an impressive 8-2 win over Alberta in the evening draw. After the teams traded singles in the opening two ends, Saskatchewan scored two with hammer in the third and stole another in the fourth to take a 4-1 lead into the break.
Inglis continued to control the game after the intermission, stealing two more in the fifth. Alberta was limited to a single in the sixth before Saskatchewan added two in the seventh to put the game away, improving to 2-0.
Inglis is back on the ice on Wednesday against P.E.I. and B.C.
On the men’s side, Nikolejsin’s Weyburn Curling Club team, third Jamie Miller, second Ray Colbow and lead Darcy Cretin, fell 4-2 to B.C. in their opener.
After B.C. was held to one in the first, then they stole singles in the third and fourth ends to take a 3-0 lead at the halfway mark.
Nikolejsin got on the board with one in the fifth, but B.C. answered with a single in the sixth to restore its three-point cushion. Saskatchewan managed one in the seventh, but B.C. closed it out with a steal in the eighth.
The evening draw against Alberta proved equally challenging. Alberta jumped out to a huge lead with five in the opening end, but Nikolejsin responded immediately with four in the second before stealing one in the third to tie the game 5-5.
Alberta regained the lead with one in the fourth, and the teams exchanged singles in the fifth and sixth ends. The game slipped away late, however, as Alberta stole one in the seventh and two more in the eighth to hand Nikolejsin an 8-4 loss.
Saskatchewan’s men sit at 0-2 after the opening day and return to action Wednesday against Newfoundland and Labrador.
