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Alberta #2 Hangs On!
Team Alberta #2 wins extra-end thriller downing Team Newfoundland & Labrador at 2025 New Holland U-20
It’s rare that an early-week pool play match at the 2025 New Holland Canadian U-20 Curling Championships can have a playoff feel to it, but ticket holders at the Gerard “Turk” Gallant Arena at Summerside, P.E.I., were treated an authentic showdown Tuesday afternoon, seeing Team Alberta #2’s Peter Hlushak down Team Newfoundland and Labrador’s Simon Perry (2-2; St. John’s) 8-7 in an extra end.
The win improves the Crestwood and Sherwood Park Curling Club reps – made up of vice-skip Jaxon Hiebert, second Varyk Doepker, lead Parker Harris, alternate Noah Mason-Wood, and coach Reg Reinhardt – to a 3-1 record.
“That one was definitely very big for our playoff chances heading into the end of the week,” said skip Peter Hlushak. “We knew they were a good team and a team we’d have to beat if we wanted to stick around at the end.”
More importantly, the win vaults the Alberta #2 collective into sole possession of second place in Pool A. It now only trails Team New Brunswick’s Rajan Dalrymple (3-0; Oromocto), who Team Alberta #2 will face in its final pool play match Friday at 7 p.m. (all times Atlantic).
“It’s definitely good to stay at the top of the leader board right now,” said Hlushak. “We’ll just see what we can do as the week goes on.”
It was a match that could have swung either way. Hlushak himself made an outstanding high-weight triple on a mess of stones crowded around the four-foot in the sixth end that resulted in Team Alberta #2 scoring three points; taking a 6-3 lead.
Hlushak feels fortunate to have even had the chance to throw the game defining shot.
“(Perry) was a little unfortunate on where he put his last one,” said Hlushak. “He kind of lined it up for us to hit the triple. I just threw it close, got a lot of rocks moving, and got our three.”
At the same time, Hlushak had a misstep in the ninth where a second-point draw offering slipped through the house, resulting in a single score. It set the table for Team Newfoundland & Labrador to score a two in the 10th, forcing the extra end.
“It’s definitely frustrating to throw the draw through in nine,” said Hlushak. “We just tried to stick in it. Just lock back in for the 10th and 11th ends.”
Hlushak would be back in the hotseat in the extra, where the skip made a tough draw to the four-foot for the win with hammer. It was a measured throw for Hlushak in a situation where emotion, and previous ends’ frustrations, could have reared its ugly head.
“I try to, at least,” said Hlushak about managing emotions mid-game. “I was getting a little frustrated out there but tried to bring it back as quick as I could.”
In other matches on Tuesday, Team Northern Ontario’s Brendan Rajala (2-2; Sudbury) defeated host Team Prince Edward Island #2’s Jack MacFadyen (1-2; Summerside) 7-5. Team Nova Scotia #2’s Calan MacIsaac (2-1; Truro) doubled up Team Ontario #2’s Noah Garner (0-4; Mississauga) 8-4 while Team Manitoba #1’s Jace Freeman (2-1; Virden) bested Team British Columbia’s Harrison Hrynew (1-3; New Westminster) 7-2. Team Alberta #1’s Zach Davies (2-2; Edmonton) beat Team British Columbia #2’s Chris Parkinson (1-2; New Westminster) 6-3 while Team Québec #1’s Pierre-Olivier Roy (1-2; Chelsea) downed Team Northern Ontario’s Riley Winters (0-4; North Bay) 8-2. Team Saskatchewan’s Dylan Derksen (3-1; Martensville) bopped Team Manitoba #2’s Nash Sudgen (1-3; Morden) 9-4 and Team Nova Scotia #1’s Zach Atherton (3-0; Halifax) managed a 7-3 win over Team Ontario #1’s Tyler MacTavish (3-1; Waterloo).
Action from the 2025 New Holland Canadian U-20 Curling Championships resumes Tuesday at 7 p.m.
Select games will be streamed live on Curling Canada’s YouTube page found here.
Live scores, standings, team rosters, schedule information and more can be found at the event website here.