SAULT STE. MARIE, February 8…There’s a good possibility that a tiebreaker or two will be required, prior to the playoffs, at the M&M Meat Shops Canadian Juniors.

This afternoon, in women’s, Manitoba (Kaitlyn Lawes of Winnipeg) held on to first place with a wild 10-8 win over Northern Ontario (Ashley Miharija of Thunder Bay), upping its mark to 10-1.  Manitoba meets Alberta in the final draw of the round robin this evening, having assured itself of at least a berth in the semi-final.

Right behind the leader, at 9-2, is Nova Scotia (Danielle Parsons of Halifax), which had an afternoon bye.  Nova Scotia plays Northern Ontario tonight, also having secured a berth in the semi-final.  However, a Manitoba loss and a Nova Scotia win would elevate the ‘bluenosers’ to first place and a bye to Sunday’s final, since it defeated Manitoba, 6-5 in Draw 3.

In other Draw 17 action this afternoon, Saskatchewan (Stephanie McVicar of Saskatoon) climbed into a three-way tie for third with Alberta (Maria Bushell of Calgary) and Northern Ontario, all at 7-4, after beating Northwest Territories, 14-4.   Newfoundland and Labrador took two in the 10th end to edge New Brunswick, 9-8, while Ontario was a 9-3 winner over winless Yukon.

Among the key pairings tonight at 7:00 pm at both Soo Curlers Association and Tarentorus Sports Club in the final draw of the round robin are Northern Ontario facing Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan meeting Newfoundland and Labrador, with tiebreaker/playoff implications on the line.

On the men’s side, Quebec (William Dion of Drummondville), with a 9-2 record, has a chance to nail down first place and a bye to Sunday’s final if it beats Yukon.   That’s because Yukon (Thomas Scoffin of Whitehorse) pulled off a major upset this afternoon, stealing its way to an 8-5 win over Ontario (Travis Fanset of St. Thomas).   The loss dropped Ontario to 9-3 and prevented it from clinching first place.

Right behind the duo are Prince Edward Island (Brett Gallant of Charlottetown) and Saskatchewan (Brennen Jones of Regina), who are knotted at 8-3.  Saskatchewan whipped Northwest Territories, 10-3 Friday afternoon.  In other games, Newfoundland and Labrador beat New Brunswick, 9-6, while Northern Ontario defeated Manitoba, 8-5.
 
The Islanders, last year’s runner-up, face British Columbia while Saskatchewan meets Newfoundland and Labrador. 

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.

-30-