Defending champion Eddie MacKenzie won the B final 6-2 this evening over Charlottetown clubmate Robert Campbell, to advance to the Page A vs. B game Saturday at 7 pm in the 10 team PEI Tankard Provincial Men’s Curling Championship being played at the Montague Curling Rink. MacKenzie blanked the first two ends in the B qualifier, scored a deuce in the third, and stole a single and a deuce in the next two ends to lead 5-0 by the fifth end break. The teams traded singles in six and seven, and the game came to an early conclusion following another MacKenzie single in end eight.

File photo (L-R): Eddie MacKenzie, Anson Carmody

The MacKenzie rink includes Anson Carmody, Tyler MacKenzie, and Sean Ledgerwood, with alternate player Phil Gorveatt, and coach Al Ledgerwood.

The top-seeded Jamie Newson rink was the first team to qualiify for the championship round, scoring four points in the ninth end in an 8-4 win over MacKenzie this afternoon to capture the “A” qualifier and advance to the Page A vs B.

File photo: Jamie Newson

Other members of the Newson rink are Andrew Robinson, Sean Clarey, and John Desrosiers, with alternate player Phillip McInnis, and coach Peter Gallant.

The winner of the A vs B between Newson and MacKenzie will advance directly to the 7 pm Monday final, while the loser will get a second chance, taking on the winner of the Page C vs D in the semi-final, 2 pm Monday, with the winner going to the final.

The C and D qualifier games go at 2 pm Saturday, with Blair Jay facing Campbell in the “C”, and Blair Weeks taking on last year’s runner-up, Rod MacDonald, in the D. Weeks scored a deuce in the final end to edge Cornwall’s Bill Hope 7- 6 this evening to advance to the D, while Blair Jay, who normally curls out of Summerside, but was brought in when John Likelywas unable to curl, doubled Tyler Harris 10-5 this evening to earn his place in the C qualifier. MacDonald dropped down to the D qualifier after losing 9-7 to Campbell this afternoon, while Campbell dropped down to the C qualifer game after losing the B qualifier.

All rinks in the Tankard, except for the Hope team, and the Donald Clarey foursome from Montague, who didn’t pick up a win in the triple-knockout event, are from the Charlottetown Curling Complex.

End by end results from the PEI Tankard are available at PEICurling.com/tankard

The PEI Tankard champion will advance to the Tim Hortons Brier, March 1-9 at the Interior Savings Centre in Kamloops, BC.