The PointsBet Invitational unofficially kicks off the Canadian curling season
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CALGARY — Gabby Wooden says her curling staff is prepared for something this season after going through the No. 1 ladies’s staff on this planet.
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The Canadian ladies’s faculty champions took on Rachel Homan within the opening draw of the single-knockout PointsBet Invitational on Wednesday.
Wooden’s Edmonton foursome took their lumps in an 11-2 loss, and also will take the expertise of taking part in on area ice and on tv towards the reigning Canadian and world champions.
“It’s a loopy first recreation of the season, so actually, none of our opponents after this are going to appear that scary,” mentioned the 20-year-old Wooden.
The PointsBet Invitational that unofficially kicks off the Canadian curling season provides a handbag of over $350,000, together with $50,000 every to the lads’s and girls’s victors, to an eclectic 32-team subject.
There’s a soccer FA Cup aspect as underdog junior, faculty, college, under-25 and membership champions try to upset, and ship house early, the likes of Homan and reigning Canadian males’s champion Brad Gushue.
On the Rocks
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And thirteenth seed Jordan McDonald offered these fireworks Wednesday by eliminating fourth-seeded Matt Dunstone 8-5 in an all-Winnipeg matchup.
“It means the world,” McDonald mentioned. “It was an unbelievable expertise on the market immediately.”
Kaitlyn Lawes, who ranked fourth in Canada on the finish of final season, beat not too long ago topped nationwide ladies’s under-25 champion Taylor Reese-Hansen 5-2.
“Each time we get to play on area ice, we’re actually excited, and taking part in towards a prime staff, that’s what we need to do. That’s the place we need to be,” mentioned Reese-Hansen. “These are the groups that we need to play towards and see how we stack up, so it’s tremendous helpful.”
Nationwide No. 8 Corryn Brown doubled college ladies’s champion Serena Grey-Withers 8-4 within the opening draw.
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“It simply makes us hungrier for extra, to be trustworthy, as a result of we’re simply tremendous blessed with nice ice, nice rocks and nice situations right here, so we simply need to be again for extra,” mentioned Grey-Withers.
Selena Sturmay edged Ashley Thevenot 8-7 within the different ladies’s recreation to kick off the five-day cashspiel at Calgary’s WinSport Area.
MEN’S DRAW RESULTS
Within the males’s draw Wednesday night, Gushue defeated Canadian males’s membership champion Dan Sherrard 12-4.
Kevin Koe, who performed a three-man staff after firing second Jacques Gauthier the day gone by, downed college males’s champion Josh Bryden 8-4. Rylan Kleiter defeated Sam Mooibroek 5-2.
McDonald, who gained final month’s nationwide under-25 championship, stored the strain on Dunstone with strain attracts and well timed runbacks.
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Dunstone tried a troublesome angle elevate to attain one and pressure the PointsBet’s tiebreaking draw to the button, however missed to surrender a steal of two.
“Taking part in a staff like in any respect for us is a very large expertise,” mentioned McDonald, who mentioned his staff drew confidence from taking part in Reid Carruthers and Mike McEwen within the final yr.
“We really feel like we are able to grasp with these groups slightly extra.”
Amongst Thursday’s video games, defending males’s champion Reid Carruthers faces Felix Asselin, nationwide ladies’s under-21 champion Allyson MacNutt squares off towards four-time Canadian champ Kerri Einarson, and males’s under-21 champion Kenan Wipf faces 2024 Brier runner-up McEwen.
“We’re simply so grateful that they embody the faculty champions, the college champions,” Wooden mentioned. “We don’t get a ton of alternatives to play on area ice, and in order that makes an enormous distinction developmentally.
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“Having an opportunity, apart from our nationals, to play on area ice, on this large stage, to get to expertise just a bit little bit of what the professionals expertise is simply actually thrilling and actually inspiring.”
Seven months after claiming the Scotties Event of Hearts title on the identical WinSport ice, Ottawa’s Homan opened defence of her PointsBet crown by scoring 4 within the second finish en path to victory.
“It’s nice to get them on this sort of stage, on a nationwide platform and getting some area ice expertise is absolutely key for subsequent gen to get as a lot expertise as doable,” Homan mentioned.
“There’s tons they will take out of it for positive. Numerous nice throws and I believed they communicated properly.”
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