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The playoff round has arrived at the Saskatchewan men’s and women’s provincial curling championships.
Updates from the SaskTel Tankard and Viterra Prairie Pinnacle curling championships as the playoff round gets underway on Saturday night
The playoff round has arrived at the Saskatchewan men’s and women’s provincial curling championships.
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After putting together a 7-1 round robin record, Jolene Campbell and her Regina squad secured the No. 1 seed at the Viterra Prairie Pinnacle, setting up a showdown with Nancy Martin and her Saskatoon rink in the women’s 1-2 page playoff game on Saturday night at 7 p.m. Martin beat Penny Barker and her Moose Jaw rink 11-4 on Saturday morning to secure the No. 2 seed.
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The winner advances directly to Sunday afternoon’s final at 3 p.m. while the loser will head to the semifinal on Sunday morning at 9 a.m. where they will get a second chance against the winner of the 3-4 page playoff game.
And in that 3-4 page playoff game on Saturday night at 7 p.m., it will be Barker against Ashley Thevenot and her Saskatoon squad, who beat Team Mandy Selzer 9-6 on Saturday morning to secure their playoff spot. The winner of this game will advance to the semifinal while the loser will be eliminated.
On the men’s side, Steve Laycock and his Swift Current team secured top spot through the round robin of the SaskTel Tankard with a 7-1 record. They are set to face Dustin Kalthoff and company in the 1-2 page playoff game on Saturday night.
In the 3-4 page playoff game, Rylan Kleiter and his Saskatoon squad battled Regina’s Team Kelly Knapp in the 3-4 page playoff game.
The men’s winner will represent Saskatchewan at the Montana’s Brier from Feb. 28 to Mar. 9 in Kelowna, B.C., where they will be joined by another Saskatchewan squad skipped by Mike McEwen, who has already earned one of three pre-qualified spots. The women’s winner will represent Saskatchewan at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts from Feb. 14-23 in Thunder Bay, Ont.
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Playoff schedule:
Saturday 7 p.m.
Sunday 9 a.m.
Sunday 3 p.m.
Playoff schedule:
Saturday 8 p.m.
Sunday 10 a.m.
Sunday 7 p.m.
Team Campbell Regina (Highland Curling Club)
Skip Jolene Campbell, third Rachel Erickson, second Abby Ackland, lead Dayna Demmans
Campbell has won the provincial title five times before, including once at the skip in 2016. Last year, Campbell curled out of Manitoba before coming back to Saskatchewan to take a run at the green jacket this year.
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Team Martin (Saskatoon Nutana Curling Club)
Skip Nancy Martin, third Chaelynn Stewart, second Kadriana Lott, lead Deanna Doig
Not only was Martin the runner-up last year against Ackerman, but she also lost in the 2023 final to Robyn Silvernagle. This year, the team has brought in mixed doubles standout Kadriana Lott from Manitoba to play second.
Team Barker (Moose Jaw Curling Centre)
Skip Penny Barker, third Lindsay Bertsch, second Taryn Schachtel, lead Danielle Sicinski, coach Sherry Anderson
Barker is a two-time provincial champion having won it all in 2017 and again in 2022. The group, which brought in Bertsch and Schachtel this season, is third among Saskatchewan-based teams on the CTRS standings this season.
Team Thevenot (Saskatoon Nutana Curling Club)
Skip Ashley Thevenot, third Brittany Tran, second Taylor Stremick, lead Kaylin Skinner, coach Susan O’Connor
After Ackerman decided to step away from the game, Thevenot moved from third to skip and the team brought in Tran.
And the squad has continued their strong play this year as they come into the event as the top Saskatchewan-based team on the Canadian Team Ranking System standings.
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Team Laycock (Swift Current Curling Club)
Skip Steve Laycock, third Shaun Meachem, second Chris Haichert, lead Brayden Grindheim
Laycock, who has 10 Brier appearances in his career, earned his Tankard ticket this year in a last-chance qualifier. Last year, Laycock lost to Kleiter in the Page 3-4 playoff game after losing to Knapp in the final in 2023.
Team Kalthoff (Saskatoon Nutana Curling Club)
Skip Dustin Kalthoff, third Josh Heidt, lead Mat Ring
Kalthoff and company had a good showing at provincials last year but lost in the playoff tiebreaker to Steve Laycock. This season, they were among the top three Saskatchewan-based teams on the Canadian Team Ranking System standings but earlier this month, the team announced second Sam Wills was stepping away due to personal reasons.
Team Kleiter (Saskatoon Nutana Curling Club)
Skip Rylan Kleiter, third Joshua Mattern, second Matthew Hall, lead Trevor Johnson, coach Dean Kleiter
Kleiter, who recently competed at the Canadian Mixed Doubles Trials, was the runner-up to McEwen last year in the provincial final losing 7-3. This year, the up-and-coming Saskatoon squad will look to get over the hump this year as one of the favourites.
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Team Knapp (Regina Highland Curling Club)
Skip Kelly Knapp, third Brennen Jones, second Mike Armstrong, lead Trent Knapp, alternate Dustin Kidby, coach Brian McCusker
After missing the playoff round last year at the Tankard, the 2023 provincial champions are back again this year with the same lineup looking for their second trip to the Brier.
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Sasktel Tankard round robin standings and scores:
Draw 1 scores (Tuesday 12 p.m.)
Draw 2 scores (Tuesday 8 p.m.)
Draw 3 scores (Wednesday 12 p.m.)
Draw 4 scores (Wednesday 8 p.m.)
Draw 5 scores (Thursday 8 a.m.)
Draw 6 scores (Thursday 4 p.m.)
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Draw 7 scores (Friday 8 a.m.)
Draw 8 scores (Friday 4 p.m.)
Draw 9 scores (Saturday 2 p.m.)
Viterra Prairie Pinnacle standings and scores:
Draw 1 scores (Tuesday 8 a.m.)
Draw 2 scores (Tuesday 4 p.m.)
Draw 3 scores (Wednesday 8 a.m.)
Draw 4 (Wednesday 4 p.m.)
Draw 5 scores (Thursday 12 p.m.)
Draw 6 scores (Thursday 8 p.m.)
Draw 7 scores (Friday 12 p.m.)
Draw 8 scores (Friday 8 p.m.)
Draw 9 scores (Saturday 10 a.m.)
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