Advice pays off!

Well-meaning hockey coach put B.C. player in the right direction

Mike Wood was 12 years old growing up and playing hockey in Victoria, and maybe, like a typical 12-year-old in the early 1980s, thinking he might be the next Wayne Gretzky.

At the end of the season, however, his coach had a piece of advice for the youngster.

“He goes, ‘You know, Mikey, perhaps you should try another sport,’ ” recalled the chuckling Team B.C. vice-skip on Monday afternoon at Curl Moncton, moments after his team racked up an 11-3 win over Manitoba’s Team Randy Neufeld (0-2; La Salle) in Day 2 action at the 2024 Everest Canadian Senior Curling Championships. 

“Looking back, you know, it was the best thing he ever said to me, and he actually turned out to be a curler. I tell that story to a lot of people. So when I went home, I told my mom, ‘I’m done with hockey,’ and she just said, well, you’re not going to sit around the house. I’m going to send you down to the curling club.”

Some 40 or so years later, Wood finds himself in Moncton, one of just three players in B.C. curling history to have won a provincial junior men’s, men’s and senior men’s title, and looking for his second Canadian title after winning the 1988 national junior men’s championship. That gold-medal team went on to win silver at the 1989 world juniors, losing the final to Swedish legend Peja Lindholm in Markham, Ont.

Wood, whose current B.C. team from Victoria features skip Neil Dangerfield, second Darren Boden, lead Glen Allen and alternate Andy Jarzebiak, has vivid memories of that junior experience, including a rare 12-end game in the semifinal against Switzerland’s Team Markus Eggler, who had shots to win in the 11th (rolled out for a blank) and 12th ends (missed on a hit for the win).

En route to winning the Canadian title, Wood’s team defeated a Saskatchewan lineup skipped by Randy Bryden — the same Randy Bryden who’s skipping Saskatchewan here this week, and it just so happens B.C. plays Saskatchewan (3-0) on Tuesday at 2 p.m. (all times Atlantic).

Wood has been entering playdowns in British Columbia for well over 30 years chasing those elusive B.C. jackets, so getting the opportunity to actually put one on is something he will never get tired of.

“Well, every time you do put on the provincial colours, it’s a great honour,” said Wood, who joined Brent Giles and Kevin Smale as the only men to win B.C. junior and senior titles to go along with a Brier Purple Heart that he won in 2007 playing third for Dean Joanisse. “I mean, there’s lots of teams out there vying for the same thing, right?

“So, getting tired of it? The mind is not getting tired of it,” he added with a smile. “The body’s starting to, right? The legs are starting to fail a little bit.”

Those legs will be energized if B.C., 2-0, continues its winning ways and makes a run into playoff contention here, and maybe, just maybe, Wood could add another Team Canada jacket to his collection.

“Especially with these boys, you know,” said Wood, nodding toward his teammates. “They’re great guys, and they’re all rookies in a national event. I’m just so happy to be here with them.

“And if we can put some wins together and get into a playoff, you know…anything can happen.”

In other men’s afternoon draw action, defending champ Team Paul Flemming of Nova Scotia hit the win column with a 7-5 win over the Yukon’s Team Terry Miller (0-2; Whitehorse); Northern Ontario’s Team Ron Rosengren (Thunder Bay) downed P.E.I.’s Team Eddie MacKenzie (1-1; Cornwall) 8-3; and New Brunswick’s Team Mike Kennedy (1-1; Grand Falls/Moncton) cruised to an 8-1 win over Team Robert Desjardins of Quebec (1-1; Chicoutimi/Riverbend).

In the evening draw, Saskatchewan beat Team Glen Hudy of the Northwest Territories (0-3; Yellowknife) 11-3; Alberta’s Team James Pahl (3-0; Sherwood Park) was a 10-2 winner over Nunavut’s Team Peter Mackey (0-3; Iqaluit); Nova Scotia (2-1) defeated Newfoundland/Labrador’s Team Keith Ryan (2-1; Labrador City) 5-3; and Ontario’s Team Howard Rajala (2-1; Ottawa) shaded Northern Ontario (2-1) 6-5.

In morning results, Saskatchewan doubled Manitoba 8-4; Alberta toppled New Brunswick 7-5; Ontario held off Nunavut 7-4; and Newfoundland/Labrador doubled the Northwest Territories 6-3.

In women’s action Monday night, Nova Scotia’s Team Theresa Breen (3-0; Halifax) remained unbeaten with an 8-2 triumph over Newfoundland/Labrador’s Team Wendy Dunne (1-2; Labrador City); Ontario’s Team Jo-Ann Rizzo also maintained a perfect record (3-0; Mississauga) with a 10-1 triumph over B.C.’s Team Diane Gushulak (1-2; Kelowna); Alberta’s Team Atina Ford Johnston, too, remained perfect (3-0; Okotoks/Calgary/Sherwood Park) by beating Nunavut’s Team Geneva Chislett (0-3/Iqaluit) 10-0; New Brunswick’s Team Shelly Graham (1-2; Fredericton) scored two in the eighth for a 6-5 win over Saskatchewan’s Team Tracy Streifel (2-1; Saskatoon).

In afternoon play, Newfoundland/Labrador scored two in the eighth end for a 7-6 win over Manitoba’s Team Kathy Isaac (0-2; Hamiota); B.C. shaded Prince Edward Island’s Team Shelly Bradley (0-2; Cornwall) 8-7; Sharon Cormier’s Northwest Territories team (1-1; Yellowknife) cracked an eighth-end deuce for a 6-5 win over the Yukon’s Team Rhonda Horte (1-1; Whitehorse); and Quebec’s Team Luanne Waddell (1-1; Des Collines/Chicoutimi/Buckingham/Mont-Bruno) stole two in the eighth end for a 9-7 victory over Northern Ontario’s Team Lori Hoppe (1-1; Kenora).

In morning games, Saskatchewan downed Quebec 9-4; Alberta knocked off the Northwest Territories 10-2; Nova Scotia turned back New Brunswick 10-2; and Ontario defeated Nunavut 7-3.

Action resumes at the 2024 Everest Canadian Senior Championships on Tuesday with draws at 10 a.m., 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. (all times Atlantic).

Fourteen men’s and 14 women’s teams (representing the 10 provinces plus Northern Ontario, Northwest Territories, Nunavut and Yukon) will compete and have been seeded into two pools per gender, playing a round robin within their pool through Wednesday.

The top four in each pool then advance to the Championship Pool for crossover games against teams from the other pool, while the remaining teams go to the Seeding Pool. 

After the Championship Pool round robin wraps up on Friday, the playoffs will start Saturday, at 8:30 a.m. with the semifinals, pairing the first-seeded team against the fourth-seeded team and the second- and third-ranked teams in the second semifinal. 

The winners advance to their respective gold-medal final, while the losers will play for bronze. The men’s medal games will be at 12:30 p.m. and the women’s medal games commence at 3:30 p.m.

Fans can follow the action live with selected games available on Curling Canada’s YouTube channel and TSN+. 

For live scores and standings, visit the scoreboard page.

For team lineups, draw times, and other event details, visit the event website.

This story will be available in French as soon as possible at www.curling.ca/2024seniors/nouvelles/?lang=fr