PEI’s two-time reigning Junior champs, the Cornwall rink of Lauren Lenentine, Kristie Rogers, Breanne Burgoyne and Rachel O’Connor, remain undefeated, winning their third game in a row at the provincial Scotties Tournament of Hearts by defeating their host-club teammates, and last year’s PEI Scotties runners-up, the Veronica Smith rink, by an 11-2 score this afternoon to take the “A” section of the modified triple knockout draw. A four-point seventh end brought the game to a speedy conclusion. Lenentine now faces the winner of tonight’s 7 pm game between Smith, and defending champion Robyn MacPhee of Charlottetown in the “B” final, Saturday at 9 am.
MacPhee advanced with a 13-5 win over clubmate Lisa Jackson this afternoon, ending things quickly with a five-point ninth end. Jackson now plays Montague’s Tammy Dewar at 7 pm in the C event, with the loser being eliminated.
Eddie MacKenzie
Meanwhile, defending champion Eddie MacKenzie and his Charlottetown rink of Josh Barry, Chris Gallant and Sean Ledgerwood also made it three in a row, scoring five deuces to win the PEI Tankard men’s A final 10-7 over their Charlottetown clubmates the Phil Gorveatt team. John Likely and his Cornwall/Charlottetown team doubled Charlottetown’s Tyler Harris 8-4 in the other game. Likely led 5-0 after three ends in the eight end game.
MacKenzie now plays the winner of this evening’s 7 pm game between Gorveatt and Likely in the 9 am Saturday B final. Harris, and Crapaud’s Alan Inman are facing elimination with a loss in tonight’s C event match.
With the modified triple knockout format, the winning team from each section also gets to compete in the next section. If a team wins all three sections, they will win the event without a championship round. If a team wins two sections, they will advance to a championship game against the winner of the other section and will take the championship if they win the game. If the other team wins, there will be a second championship game, with the winner of that game going to the nationals. If there are three separate section winners, the team that played in the most section finals will earn a bye to the second championship game where they will face the winner of a game between the other two finalists.
The PEI Scotties winning team advances to the national Scotties Tournament of Hearts, January 27 to February 4 in Penticton BC, while the Tankard winner will play in the Tim Hortons Brier, March 3-11 in Regina SK.