SAULT STE. MARIE, February 8….Ontario and Quebec men both won their games Friday morning to move to 9-2 and a share of first place at the M&M Meat Shops Canadian Juniors.

But it was Ontario’s 9-8 improbable victory which was the talk of the draw.  Skipped by Travis Fanset of St. Thomas, Ontario dug itself a huge hole early against British Columbia (Jay Wakefield of New Westminster), down 7-0 at the fifth end break. 

But a remarkable rally ensued, as Ontario took one in the sixth, then proceeded to steal deuces in the seventh and eighth ends.  It then stole three more in the ninth to assume an 8-7 lead.   Shell-shocked British Columbia managed to even the score in the 10th end, but Ontario took the deciding point in the 11th end on a measure after Fanset decided he didn’t have to throw his final stone.

Meanwhile, Quebec (William Dion of Drummondville), methodically bested Alberta, 7-5, taking the lead for good with a three-spot in the fifth end.

Ontario faces Yukon this afternoon, while Quebec meets the same foe tonight.  An Ontario win clinches first place and a bye to Sunday’s final for Ontario, since it defeated Quebec, 7-4 in Draw 3 during the round robin.

Prince Edward Island (Brett Gallant of Charlottetown) moved to 8-3, alone in third place after beating up on New Brunswick, 7-2.  In the other Draw 16 match, Nova Scotia won its third game, defeating Northwest Territories, 8-4.   Idle Saskatchewan (Brennen Jones of Regina) sits in fourth with a 7-3 record.

On the women’s side, the 9-1 leader Manitoba (Kaitlyn Lawes of Winnipeg) had a bye, but white-hot Nova Scotia (Danielle Parsons of Halifax) won its eighth straight game, 8-2 over Northwest Territories, to move to 9-2.

Third place Northern Ontario (Ashley Miharija of Thunder Bay), presently at 7-3, was also idle this morning, but faces two crucial contests this afternoon and evening, against Manitoba and Nova Scotia, respectively.

New Brunswick and Alberta both lost this morning to fall back to 7-4.  New Brunswick (Mary Jane McGuire of Fredericton) lost to Prince Edward Island, 8-3, while Alberta (Maria Bushell of Calgary) was downed by Quebec, 6-4.  In the other game, Ontario bested British Columbia, 7-4.

Draw 17 at both Soo Curlers Association and Tarentorus Sports Club is at 2:00 pm, with the round robin coming to a close tonight with Draw 18 at 7:00 pm.

At the conclusion of the round robin, the first place teams advance to their respective finals on Sunday, while the second and third place teams meet in semi-finals on Saturday evening.

Both finals at Soo Curlers Association will be televised live across Canada on CBC-TV.  The women’s final will start at 12 noon, with the men’s final beginning at 1:30 pm ET.  The winners will then represent Canada at the world junior curling championships, March 1-9 in Östersund, Sweden.   Canada has won a leading 16 world junior men’s titles since 1975 and eight women’s crowns since 1988.

Alberta leads all provinces with 15 junior men’s titles, while Saskatchewan is next with 13.  Saskatchewan has won a leading 10 Canadian junior women’s crowns since the event began in 1971 in Vancouver.  

CurlTV (www.curltv.com) is also providing extensive event coverage of the M&M Meat Shops Canadian Juniors to its subscribers.

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