No place like home! 

Host Team New Brunswick sails to opening day victory at 2024 Canadian Mixed Doubles Curling Championship

It was a fairytale start for Team New Brunswick at the 2024 Canadian Mixed Doubles Curling Championship in Fredericton; one that required no magic slippers or yellow brick roads to help guide the way. 

No wishes nor wizards could beat the honest effort and quality shot making that granted the New Brunswick pair of Melissa Adams and Alex Robichaud a 9-2 victory over Team Laplante/Gibeau (0-1; Buckingham, QC) on Sunday evening at the Aitkens Centre at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton. 

The win sees Team New Brunswick start strong with an 1-0 record.

“Pretty much a dream start as far as we could have imagined it,” said Robichaud after the decisive win. “It was great to see so many familiar faces in the crowd.” 

Fans in Fredericton did indeed show up and showed their support for the Capital Winter Club duo and made their presence felt at ice level.  

“A lot of support,” Robichaud said of the home-town turnout. “Family, friends, volunteers, people we see at the (Capital Winter Club) on a daily basis who made the travel to see us.” 

Team New Brunswick has lofty goals at this year’s Canadian mixed doubles and aren’t shying away from the tough 32-team field, saying this first win is just a sign of things to come. 

“Our goal this year is to make the playoffs,” said Robichaud. “We’ve put in a lot of work into our team this season, playing a lot of spiels, and this is a first step towards reaching that goal.” 

With the Capital Winter Club co-hosting this championship alongside the Aitkens Centre, Robichaud knows his team possesses a distinct advantage here at the Canadian Mixed Doubles. 

“We know the ice, we know the rocks,” said Robichaud about playing at home. “Just being in our own homes instead of a hotel, being able to meal-prep, it’s a big advantage.” 

New Brunswick will next face Team Kelly/Tardi Monday at 10 a.m., (all times Atlantic). 

Also in action on Sunday evening was Team Walker/Muyers, the no. 1 ranked team in Canadian mixed doubles, who were graciously greeted by fans in Fredericton with a chorus of support.  

And though the team hail from the Sherwood Park Curling Club in Alberta, Laura Walker felt right at home in Fredericton. 

“I don’t why or where they came from, but we did play here in 2019 so maybe they remember that,” laughed Walker when asked about the support from fans. “It’s fun to have fans all over the world.” 

Regardless, the Fredericton crowd went home happy with the former Candian mixed doubles champion Team Walker/Muyers earning a 7-4 win over Team Kleiter/Kleiter (0-1; Saskatoon) in the opener. 

“I think that what was good about that game for a first game of an event is that we had a little bit of everything,” said Walker. “We got out to a big lead, we let them creep back in. We faced a bit of adversity, but we had pressure on them. To get through that and to go through all those things is going to be really good going forward.” 

The now 1-0 Team Walker/Muyers will next face Team Yukon at 10 a.m., on Monday. 

Action from the 2024 Canadian Mixed Doubles Curling Championship resumes Sunday evening at 9 p.m. 

Select games will be streamed live on Curling Canada’s streaming platform, Curling Canada +. 

Schedule information, scores and more details about the event can be found here.