Strong start for Quebec’s St-Georges at 2018 New Holland Juniors

Quebec skip Laurie St-Georges stole 10 points in four consecutive ends to defeat Nova Scotia’s Kaitlyn Jones on Saturday evening, capping off a challenging day for her team at the 2018 New Holland Canadian Junior Curling Championships in Shawinigan, Que. St-Georges, making her second appearance at the national championship, started the day with a 9-3 win over Saskatchewan’s Sara England, but played most of the first game without lead Noémie Gauthier, who was unable to continue because of back pain. Spare Isabelle Thiboutot stepped in for the evening game, and the foursome powered their way to a 12-2 win over Jones and her Halifax Curling Club squad. Mackenzie Glynn of the RE/MAX Centre in St. John’s, N.L., also had a two-win day, skipping her team to a 13-2 win over Nunavut in the evening draw after a 9-4 win over Northwest Territories’ Tyanna Bain in the afternoon. Kayla Skrlik of Alberta bounced back from a 7-4 loss to Justine Comeau of New Brunswick in Draw 2 to squeak out an 8-7 win over Sara England of Saskatchewan on Saturday evening. Northern Ontario’s Hailey Beaudry also got into the win column in Draw 3, with a 10-7 win over B.C.’s Taylor Reese-Hansen. Men’s action on Saturday evening saw the debut of last year’s champions: Tyler Tardi and his Langley, British Columbia, team of third Sterling Middleton, second (and brother) Jordan Tardi and lead Zachary Curtis, who is new to the team this season, showed that they’re looking to repeat last year’s gold medal performance. Tardi scored a deuce in the final end of a tight game for a 6-4 win over Saskatchewan’s Rylan Kleiter. In other Draw 3 games, New Brunswick’s Liam Marin defeated Yukon’s Joe Wallingham 8-4, and Daniel Bruce of the Corner Brook Curling Club led his Newfoundland and Labrador foursome to a 7-3 win over Northwest Territories’ Sawer Kaeser. In Draw 2 on Saturday afternoon, Northern Ontario’s Tanner Horgan, the 2017 bronze medallist, needed an extra end to defeat Alberta’s Karsten Sturmay, another familiar face. Sturmay is making his third appearance at the national championship. Action continues on Sunday with draws at 9:30 a.m., 2 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. (all times ET). Fourteen men’s and 14 women’s teams will compete for Canadian titles, separated into two seven-team pools per gender for an initial round robin, followed by a Championship Round (top four in each pool) leading to the playoffs. The top team advances to its respective final on Sunday, Jan. 21, while the second- and third-place teams meet in a semifinal on Saturday, Jan. 20, to determine the other finalist. TSN/RDS2 will carry complete live coverage of the semifinals (women at 1 p.m. [all times ET], men at 6 p.m.) on Jan. 20 and finals (women at 1 p.m., men at 6 p.m.), held at the Aréna de Grand Mère. It’s the first year of event title sponsorship by New Holland, a world leader in the manufacturing and selling of agricultural and construction equipment. For event information, visit www.curling.ca/2018juniors.