Quebec and Northern Ontario defy the odds to qualify for semis at 2024 Everest Club Championships

The finest moments arrive when the stakes are high, and Quebec’s Team Gabrielle Lavoie and Northern Ontario’s Team Dylan Johnston are all-in on an adrenaline-driven Saturday night.

Both teams picked up improbable come-from-behind victories to earn spots in the semifinals at the 2024 Everest Canadian Curling Club Championships at the Barrie Curling Club in Ontario.

Down by three, Team Johnston of the Fort William Curling Club in Thunder Bay trailed New Brunswick’s Team Jeff Lacey (Thistle Curling Club, Saint John) and scored four points in the eighth end to eke out a 9-8 win. 

With a jumbled house, Northern Ontario – skip Johnston, vice-skip Chris Briand, second Brennan Wark and lead Jordan Potter – played a hit on its last rock of the game, ricocheting its shot stone into another of its counters but keeping it just close enough for the score of four, confirmed after a measure. 

“I’m feeling great. How can you not feel great after being down three and taking four to win it?” Briand said. “We gave up two in the seventh when our goal was to try and blank it or steal one. But to come home and get four is wild.”

It’s been an up-and-down week for Northern Ontario, which had to win back-to-back playoff games today to earn its spot in the semifinals. 

“Dodging bullets like in the Matrix, I think, is what’s working well for us,” Briand said. “We’ve had some good moments, we’ve had some shaky moments. I think we’re starting to get a little bit in the middle of the road now; we haven’t played a really great game yet, so with a couple of games to go, hopefully, we can pull up the good ones where it matters.”

Team Lavoie, of the Victoria Curling Club in Quebec City, clawed through a five-point deficit against Northern Ontario’s Team Kim Beaudry (Curl Fort Frances Community Centre) to earn an 8-7 win. Quebec stole five points in the final three ends to seal the deal.

Tied at one, Northern Ontario scored a five-ender in the third and tacked on a stolen point in the fourth end. But the second half of the game was all Quebec, scoring a deuce in the fifth with a hit and stole two more points in the sixth. That string of three points boosted the confidence of skip Lavoie, vice-skip Patricia Boudreault, second Roxane Poirier, lead Marie-Ève Boudreault and alternate Claudy Daoust.

“I was starting to believe a little bit more that we can do it. We’re kind of better at stealing than making a two with the hammer. We were just scoring two and continuing that way and we started to believe it, play better than the first half and I think we kept some pressure on them too,” Lavoie said.

Another steal in the seventh end tied the game and Quebec’s Team Lavoie finished the eighth end with a draw behind cover to the back four-foot. Team Beaudry had just thrown a runback and attempted to make another one for the win, but just missed Quebec’s shot stone.

“I’m really excited, I can’t believe it. We were down by a lot, but we didn’t give up and are very happy right now. We tried not to give up because it was still early in the game, so we tried to stay focused, make our shots and keep it simple,” Lavoie said.

In other B qualifier games, Manitoba’s Team Deb McCreanor (La Salle Curling Club) earned a 5-4 extra-end win against Ontario’s Team Patricia Bandurka (Dixie Curling Club, Mississauga) and Quebec’s Team Stéphane Brabant (Boucherville Curling Club) earned a 9-8 win over Alberta’s Team Robert Johnson (Irricana Curling Club). Both teams are advancing to Sunday’s semifinals.

Earlier in the day, Ontario’s Team Jordan Keon (Richmond Hill Curling Club) was the first men’s team to qualify for the semifinals after an 11-5 win in the A-qualifier over Alberta’s Team Johnson on Saturday morning. Team Keon remains the class of the field on the men’s side and has remained undefeated this week. Three team members won this event in 2022 and are now in prime position for a repeat performance after reaching the final four. 

In the other men’s A-qualifier, Manitoba’s Team Zach Wasylik (Pembina Curling Club, Winnipeg) made a thrilling long angle-slash double to beat New Brunswick’s Team Lacey earlier in the day. 

Meanwhile, Nova Scotia’s Team Michelle Armstrong followed suit by winning back-to-back games on the A-side, capping the run with a 5-3 win over Northern Ontario’s Team Beaudry to earn the first semifinal spot available. Team Armstrong made it to the gold-medal game in 2018, and is now back within striking distance of the gold-medal game once again. Prince Edward Island’s Team Amanda Power (Cornwall Curling Club) is also joining Nova Scotia in the semifinals after earning back-to-back wins on Saturday. First was a 9-2 win against Newfoundland & Labrador’s Team Susan Curtis (Corner Brook Curling Club), followed by an 8-1 win against Ontario’s Team Bandurka in the afternoon.

The semifinals get underway at 9 a.m. (all times ET). 

In the men’s field, Manitoba’s Team Wasylik takes on Quebec’s Team Brabant and Ontario’s Team Keon faces Northern Ontario’s Team Johnston.

On the women’s side of the draw, Team Power of Prince Edward Island plays Quebec’s Team Lavoie, while Nova Scotia’s Team Armstrong is against Manitoba’s Team McCreanor.

The winners advance to the gold-medal games, and the losers play for the bronze-medal games later in the day at 2 p.m.

Fans can follow the action live with selected games available on Curling Canada’s YouTube channel and TSN+. 

For live scores and standings, visit the scoreboard page.

For team lineups, draw times, and other event details, visit the event website.

This story will be available in French as soon as possible at: https://www.curling.ca/?lang=fr