The hometown team bounces back in Boucherville

After losing a close game to Ontario on Tuesday morning, Quebec’s Benoit Lessard bounced back with a decisive 10-3 win over New Brunswick in Draw Three of the Canadian Wheelchair Curling Championship in Boucherville, Que. In the morning draw, Lessard, the 2013 gold medallist, and his team of Carl Marquis, Johanne Daly, Christine Lavallée and coach Germain Tremblay had Ontario’s Chris Rees in trouble, but Rees was able to score three points in the final end for the 7-6 Ontario win. In the afternoon game against New Brunswick’s Michael Fitzgerald, Quebec took control early and stole three points in the fourth end to lead 9-1 and go on to win with a score of 10-3. In other Draw Three match-ups, Ontario’s Rees stole a single point in the final end to win 6-5 over Manitoba’s Dennis Thiessen, the 2014 gold medallist. Also this afternoon, Saskatchewan’s Darwin Bender stole three ends on the way to a 6-1 win over Alberta’s Don Kuchelyma; BC’s Gerry Austgarden overpowered Nova Scotia’s Trendal Hubley-Bolivar, 13-3; and Joanne MacDonald of Newfoundland and Labrador capped a two-win day with a steal of two in the final end and an 8-4 win over Northern Ontario’s Wayne Ficek. Earlier in the day, Manitoba defeated BC, 7-3; Newfoundland and Labrador stole seven points in the last three ends to defeat Nova Scotia, 12-7; Saskatchewan defeated Northern Ontario, 7-3; and New Brunswick lost to Alberta, 7-3. The round robin continues on Wednesday with games at 10 a.m. ET and 3 p.m. ET. Ten teams, representing nine provinces plus Northern Ontario, will play the round robin from April 27 to Friday, May 1, followed by the Page playoff games (1 vs 2, 3 vs 4) on Saturday. The semifinal (loser of 1-2 vs winner of 3-4) goes Sunday, May 3, at 10 a.m., with the championship final scheduled for 2:30 p.m. ET. Selected games are being livestreamed on the Wheelchair Curling Blog at www.wcblog2.com/ For scores and standings, visit Curling Canada’s live scoring at https://www.curling.ca/scoreboard/#/competitions/1654-2015-canadian-wheelchair-curling-championship/scoreboard For results and team information, visit the event website at https://www.curling.ca/2015wheelchair/