HOT START FOR BLUENOSERS AT MIXED 

NOVA SCOTIA OPENS WITH TWO WINS AT CANADIAN MIXED 

If you asked a random selection competitive curlers, chances are most of them would have a travel-related horror story about a cancelled flight, lost luggage, or a rental car fiasco. 

So one might think Nova Scotia’s Owen Purcell was pushing his luck when he started the weekend playing in an event with his men’s team in Halifax, and left halfway through to fly to Toronto, and then make the short drive to St. Catharines, Ont. for the start of the 2024 Canadian Mixed Curling championship. 

“It was a little bit busy, trying to manage to play in both,” said Purcell. “My team knew I was leaving and they had to finish the event with three players, but it made for a long day.” 

The travel gods, however, were on their side, and Team Nova Scotia (Purcell, Christina Black, Adam McEachern, and Jennifer Baxter) arrived in at the St. Catharines Golf and Country Club without incident. 

“We ended up arriving pretty late, but the travel itself wasn’t too bad. All the bags made it.” 

Team Nova Scotia opened the week-long tournament with a giant 11-1 win Northern Ontario’s Dylan Johnston. 

“Today was also a busy day. We practiced this morning, played just now, and have to go out again after the opening ceremonies,” said Purcell. “Looking forward to relaxing a bit afterward.” 

The team from the Halifax Curling Club would go on to win their second game, beating British Columbia’s Cody Tanaka, 6-3. The two-win day put the Bluenosers at the top of Pool A. They’re followed by Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador, who both opened with wins in their only game of the day. 

“We’re feeling great. We’re all throwing very well,” said Purcell. “We’re all throwing similar releases, so it makes for easy reads. We’ve got the weight figured out, so it’s all good so far.” 

Quebec’s Don Bowser would be the only other team to play two games on Sunday. They also won both, defeating Northwest Territories’ Jamie Koe and Nunavut’s Peter Mackey. They take the early lead in Pool B. Manitoba’s Ryan Weibe and Alberta’s Kurt Balderson also opened with wins to sit close behind. 

Pool play continues until Wednesday when the two pools will conclude their round robin play. The top four from each pool will face off in a championship pool, while the bottom three will go to a seeding round.