Home-ice advantage!

Home cooking helps New Brunswick men qualify for Everest Seniors Championship pool

Grant Odishaw has competed in 26 national curling championships over his splendid career representing New Brunswick.

He’s wearing his latest New Brunswick jacket this week at the 2024 Everest Canadian Senior Curling Championships, but there’s something special about this occasion.

For the first time, Odishaw, who is calling the game and throwing lead rocks for the host province, is getting to do it in his hometown of Moncton, and at his home club, Curl Moncton.

And as the stakes get higher beginning Thursday with the start of the eight-team Championship Pool round robin, Odishaw and his New Brunswick teammates — last-rock thrower/vice-skip Mike Kennedy, third Marc LeCocq and second Vance LeCocq — are relishing this rare opportunity to perform for a national title with friends and family in the stands and, with the exception of Kennedy (who lives four hours away in Edmunston), be able to sleep in their own beds rather than the hotel.

“It’s a pretty cool experience,” said Odishaw with a smile Wednesday as New Brunswick completed its preliminary round robin with a pair of wins, 9-2 over Nunavut’s Team Steve Mackey (0-6; Iqaluit) and 4-1 over Northern Ontario’s Team Ron Rosengren (3-3; Thunder Bay) to finish at 5-1, to clinch first place in Pool B. “My wife and family can all come, and all our teammates’ (friends and family). So this is really cool to play right here, and our ice has been fantastic.”

And yet, one might think there’s some added pressure on a lineup that has enjoyed no shortage of success over the years — including Kennedy winning a Canadian (2013) and world senior (2014) title with a different team — to perform well on home ice.

“Geez, no,” protested Odishaw. “Well, I think we’re all veteran enough that that doesn’t even (matter) — I don’t even see my wife in the stands. So you’ve got to tune that stuff out. But just knowing they’re here watching, it’s exciting.”

New Brunswick, Quebec’s Team Robert Desjardins (4-2; Chicoutimi/Riverbend), Alberta’s Team James Pahl (4-2; Sherwood Park), and 2022 Canadian and 2023 World senior champs Ontario’s Team Howard Rajala (3-3; Ottawa) qualified for the Championship Pool out of Pool B.

The Pool A qualifiers were Saskatchewan’s Team Randy Bryden (5-1; Regina), 2015 Canadian senior champs Team Randy Neufeld of Manitoba (4-2; La Salle), British Columbia’s Team Neil Dangerfield (4-2; Victoria), and defending Canadian and world senior men’s champions Nova Scotia’s Team Paul Flemming (4-2; Halifax).

The Pool A teams cross over to play the Pool B teams Thursday and Friday, with the teams carrying over their preliminary round-robin records.

Championship Pool games are scheduled for 12:30 p.m. (all times Atlantic) and 8:30 p.m. Thursday, and 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Friday.

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 the 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.

And regardless of the stakes, regardless of the outcome, the chance to represent his home province in his home town at his home club will be something Odishaw won’t soon forget.

“I’ve been lucky enough to play on some really good teams, and I’ve been to a lot of these before,” he said. “So staying at home is kind of part of the experience that I’m really enjoying.”

The teams that didn’t qualify for the Championship Pool will play in the Seeding Pool to determine the final overall standings.

Advancing to the Women’s Championship Pool from Pool A were Nova Scotia’s Team Theresa Breen (6-0; Halifax), Saskatchewan’s Team Tracy Streifel (4-2; Saskatoon), Quebec’s Team Luanne Waddell (4-2; Des Collines/Chicoutimi/Buckingham/Mont-Bruno), and Northern Ontario’s Team Lori Hoppe (3-3; Kenora).

The Pool B qualifiers were Ontario’s Team Jo-Ann Rizzo (6-0; Mississauga), Alberta’s Team Atina Ford Johnston (5-1; Okotoks/Calgary/Sherwood Park), British Columbia’s Team Diane Gushulak (4-2; Kelowna), and Prince Edward Island’s Team Shelly Bradley (3-3; Cornwall).

Seeding Pool games in both genders are scheduled for 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, and 2 p.m. on Friday.

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