Alberta women, Saskatchewan men advance to finals of M&M Meat Shops Canadian Juniors

Alberta, skipped by Nadine Chyz of Calgary, claimed top spot and a berth in Saturday evening’s final (5:30 pm MT/7:30 pm ET, live on TSN) of the M&M Meat Shops Canadian Juniors in Calgary by defeating Saskatchewan’s Trish Paulsen of Saskatoon, 9-3 Thursday evening. Chyz finished with an overall record of 11-1. Her Calgary Curling Club team’s only loss came Thursday afternoon, when she dropped a 9-7 decision to British Columbia’s Dailene Sivertson of Victoria. That set up the showdown between Chyz and Paulsen, with the winner advancing to the final, the loser to the semi-final. Chyz’s foursome was firing on all cylinders in the second half of the game, after being down 3-2 at the fifth end break. Alberta scored a deuce in the sixth end, then stole the last five points – two in the seventh, one in the eighth and two in the ninth end for the resounding triumph. “We never thought that we would go unbeaten,” said the 20-year-old Chyz, a Disabilities Studies student at Mount Royal University, who finished fifth at last year’s M&M Meat Shops Canadian Juniors in Sorel-Tracy. “Our goal was just to make the playoffs. We lost that game against B.C., but really, to be 11-and-1, we’re completely happy with that and a bye to the final. “(After the loss) We needed to regroup, and we came out here fighting really strong. And honestly, this was one of the best games we’ve played this week. There was a little bit of pressure on both sides, so it felt really nice that we came out and played really strong.” Chyz will await the winner of Saturday morning’s semi-final at 10:30 am between Saskatchewan and Manitoba, skipped by Breanne Meakin of Winnipeg, which defeated British Columbia, 7-3, in a battle for third place, to finish at 8-4. Alberta has won only five Canadian junior women’s championships since it began in 1971, the last by Heather Nedohin (nee Godberson) in 1996 in Edmonton. On the men’s side, Saskatchewan’s Braeden Moskowy of Regina completed the round robin in perfect form with a 12-0 record after beating Alberta, 6-2. Saskatchewan, which had already clinched first place when defeating Ontario Thursday afternoon, now advances to Sunday evening’s final at 5:30 pm MT/7:30 pm ET, live on TSN. Both the women’s and men’s finals will be played at the North Hill Community Curling Club, as will the semi-finals. Only four previous men’s teams have claimed the championship while undefeated, since it began in 1950. Saskatchewan has won 13 Canadian junior men’s titles, the last by Kyle George in 2005 in Fredericton. Moskowy’s Callie Curling Club team will await the winner of Sunday morning’s semi-final at 10:30 am. Ontario, skipped by Mat Camm of Ottawa, earned a berth in the semi with a 7-3 win over Yukon, to finish the round robin with a 9-3 mark. Camm will play the winner of the tiebreaker for third place between New Brunswick (Jon Rennie of Fredericton) and Newfoundland/Labrador (Colin Thomas of St. John’s), both of whom wound up with 8-4 marks after wins in Draw 13. Newfoundland/Labrador was an 8-2 winner over Northern Ontario, while New Brunswick defeated Northwest Territories, 9-6. The third place tiebreaker will be played Friday at 2:00 pm MT at The Glencoe.