Under-18 Championships kick off in Moncton

The inaugural Canadian Under-18 Boys and Girls Curling Championships got underway in Moncton, N.B., today with many of Canada’s up-and-coming curling stars getting their first taste of national championship competition on the ice at the Superior Propane Centre and Curl Moncton, who are jointly hosting the event. In the opening draw of the Boys’ round robin, Ontario’s Hazen Enman scored a single in the eighth end to win a close 5-4 battle over Quebec’s Greg Cheal. British Columbia’s Tyler Tardi – who, with third Sterling Middleton, is the current Canadian Junior Men’s champion and represented Canada at the World’s in Gangneung, South Korea, earlier this year – opened with four points, then went on to steal three more big ends on the way to a 12-1 win Oberon Lee of the Northwest Territories. In other Boys’ games, Nova Scotia’s Ryan Abraham defeated Northern Ontario’s Jacob Horgan 7-0; Saskatchewan’s Rylan Kleiter led 6-0 after three ends on the way to a 9-2 win over Newfoundland and Labrador’s Andrew Lawrence; and Manitoba’s Brett Walter defeated Prince Edward Island’s Donald DeWolfe 10-1. On the Girls’ side, Manitoba’s Mackenzie Zacharias needed an extra end to defeat Newfoundland and Labrador’s Mackenzie Glynn 7-6. In other games, Northern Ontario’s Kira Brunton scored a big three in the eighth to win 7-4 over Alberta’s Abby Marks, and Ontario’s Kayla Gray stole the final two ends on the way to a 5-1 win over Saskatchewan’s Rachel Erickson. Action continues on Tuesday with games at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. (all times EDT). For information on team lineups, schedules and tickets, go to the event website:www.curling.ca/2017under18/.