SALMON ARM, BC, February 3....It was certainly a key match-up, even as early in the week as it was, featuring Manitoba's defending Canadian champion Kaitlyn Lawes of Winnipeg against Alberta's Casey Scheidegger of Lethbridge.

Both teams held a share of first place with 3-1 records, along with three other foes, as Draw 7 unfolded Tuesday morning at the M&M Meat Shops Canadian Juniors.

The battle at the Sunwave Centre proved a tight one, but Alberta emerged a 6-5 winner in an extra end.  Alberta took a deuce in the second end, after a blanked first, but Manitoba responded with three in the third. The teams then traded singles as the 'Bison' took a 4-3 lead into the fifth end break.

After a blanked sixth, Alberta counted one in the seventh, the eighth was blanked, but the game's momentum stayed with Alberta after a steal of one in nine.   Lawes was then kept to a single in the 10th, before Scheidegger won it in the 11th end with a wide open hit and stay.

"I was pretty nervous going into the game and I got even more nervous when I missed a hit and stick for two in the seventh end," explained the 21-year-old Scheidegger.  "We took just one, so I was a little nervous after that.  They're a great team.  We didn't know what to expect.

"On my last shot (in the ninth end), we made a freeze, so she (Lawes) couldn't really get it out because of a guard. She hit one of hers and almost pushed it in for shot, though.  (In the extra) My second, my little sister Jessie, made a triple early and that was big.  They had a double guard on and one in the four-foot and she just cleared everything."

It's the first appearance for Scheidegger at the Canadian championship, but third Kalynn Park skipped Alberta at the 2007 M&M Meat Shops Canadian Juniors in St. Catharines, finishing with a 7-5 record.   This year, they teamed up for the first time.

"I was very excited to come here.  It's my last year of Juniors and I have never been (to a national championship).  I lost to Kalynn the year that she came. We have such a great support group in Lethbridge.  We had a big sending-away party, which was really good.  It's an awesome club to curl out of."

The victory elevated Alberta to 4-1, the same record as Ontario (Rachel Homan of Ottawa), which defeated Newfoundland and Labrador (Erin Porter of St. John's), 8-4.    Scheidegger lost to Homan, 5-4 on Monday morning.

In other games, British Columbia (Kelly Shimizu of Richmond) improved to 2-3 with a 6-3 victory over New Brunswick (Ashley Howard of Moncton), which fell to 3-2.  Meanwhile, Quebec (Kristen Richard of Lachine) went to 3-2 by outlasting Nova Scotia (Marie Christianson of Halifax), 6-5 in an extra end.  The 'bluenosers' fell to 2-3 with the loss.

Over on the men's side, only Northern Ontario (Dylan Johnston of Thunder Bay) remains undefeated at 4-0 after a morning bye.

New Brunswick (Steve Burgess of Fredericton) lost its first game, 10-8 to British Columbia (Bryan Kedziora of Maple Ridge), to fall to 4-1, while the host province improved to 3-2 after its third straight win.

Newfoundland and Labrador (Kelly Schuh of St. John's) also improved to 4-1 with an 8-5 victory over Ontario (Bowie Abbis-Mills of Waterloo), which dropped to 1-4. 

In other matches, Manitoba (Sam Good of Winnipeg) is now 2-3 after an 11-7 win over Alberta (Kevin Yablonski of Calgary), which fell to 3-2.  Quebec (Andrew Leigh of Lachine) stole two in the 10th end to edge Nova Scotia (Paul Dexter of St. Andrews), 7-6.    Quebec's record is now 2-3, while Nova Scotia's is 1-4.

Round robin play continues at 2:00 pm and 7:00 pm, with draws at both the Sunwave Centre and Salmon Arm Curling Club.

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