Duncan Silversides鈥� goal going into the sa国际传媒 Junior Curling Championships at Royal City Curling Club in New Westminster was to qualify for the playoffs.
鈥淚 think we have a good shot at getting to playoffs and after that it鈥檚 just one game at a time,鈥� Silversides said before the event. 鈥淔rom there, it鈥檚 just whoever wins the right game.鈥�
With a strong finish, the third on skip Kyle Habkirk鈥檚 Victoria Curling Centre rink, along with second Ryan Cassidy and lead Alex Horvath, managed just that, winning a fifth straight game Friday morning and advancing to the Page 3 vs. 4 game today at 2 p.m. against Hayato Sato of the host club.
Habkirk, of Coquitlam, and his three Victoria mates wrapped up the round-robin portion of the event with an impressive 9-3 win over Thomas Love of Vernon 鈥� leading 5-1 after six ends and putting an exclamation mark on the game with a four-ender in the eighth.
Habkirk, who started provincials at 0-2 only to finish 5-2, placed behind Matthew McCrady鈥檚 Royal City rink which finished first at 6-1. Tyler Tardi, also at 5-2, snuck into second thanks to his round-robin win in Draw 1 over Habkirk. Sato was fourth at 4-3.
McCrady and Tardi will meet in the Page 1 vs. 2 game, also at 2 p.m., with that winner advancing straight to Sunday鈥檚 3 p.m. final. The loser will face the victor of Habkirk vs. Sato in the semifinal tonight at 7 p.m.
Jordan Kiss and his Royal City team (with Derek Chandler of Victoria at lead) was 3-4 and missed the playoffs.
In junior women鈥檚 play, Corryn Brown of Kamloops (with Nanaimo鈥檚 Marika Van Osch at third) went undefeated at 7-0 after an 8-5 Friday afternoon win over the VCC鈥檚 Mariah Coulombe.
Coulombe 鈥� with third Taylor Reese-Hansen, second Jordan Koster and lead Kirsten Zucche 鈥� finished with a 2-5 mark and out of the playoff picture.
Sarah Daniels of the Delta Thistle club (with Sydney Brilz of Victoria at lead) finished at 4-3 along with Alysha Buchy of Kimberley. Megan Bourassa, of Delta Thistle, Chilliwack鈥檚 Cieraa Fisher and Alysaa Connell of Prince George were all 3-4 and in tiebreakers Friday night and this morning.
The women鈥檚 final is set for 11 a.m. on Sunday and the men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 winners advance to the Canadian Junior Curling Championships from Jan. 21 to 29 at the Esquimalt Curling Club and Archie Browning Sports Centre.
