Semi-Final Results from the 2018 CCAA/Curling Canada Championships

The semi-final round capped off day four of the 2018 CCAA Curling Canada Championships featuring the the top four men’s and women’s teams competing for the chance at a national title.

Women’s Semi-Finals

In the first semi-final matchup, the #1 seed Fansahwe College Falcons (6-1) took on the #4 seed MacEwan University Griffins (4-3), giving a rematch of their final round robin game earlier in the day. The Falcons were first to score, settling for a single in the first end, while the Griffins played a conservative style, blanking the second and third ends. The Griffins tied the game at 1-1 with a single in the 4^th end, followed up by a steal of one in the fifth end to take a 2-1 lead into the break.

The Falcons came roaring back in the 6^th with a score of two to retake a 3-2 lead after a couple missed shots by the Griffins, before once again conceding consecutive singles in the 7^th and 8^th ends to MacEwan. The Falcons would make a late push in the 9^th end with a score of two to take a 5-4 lead into the 10^th end. With the hammer in the 10^th, the Griffins would hit and stick for one on their last rock to tie the game at 5-5 and force an 11^th end. In the final end, the Falcons would bury shot stone behind a guard to score a single point, booking their ticket to the gold medal game with a 6-5 victory. Lead Sara Fraser led the Griffins at 83% for the match, while Skip Kaitlyn Poirier curled 79% for the Falcons.

In the second semi-final game, the #2 seeded Camosun College Chargers (5-2) come into the playoffs riding a 5-game win streak against the #3 seeded NAIT Ooks (4-3). The Chargers came out of the gate on a mission, taking an early 2-0 lead in first end. After a couple blank ends, the teams traded singles with the Chargers in the drivers seat with a 3-1 lead at the halfway point.

The Ooks would continue to chip away by scoring one point in the 6^th, and stealing another in the 8^th to make it a 3-3 game. In the 8^th, the Chargers couldn’t capitalize with multiple rocks in the house and would take a single point and 4-3 lead into the 10^th end. In the final end, the Ooks missed two late takeout chances and could not stick their final rock on the hit, leaving the Chargers to steal two on their way to the gold medal finals with a 6-3 win. Ooks third Carina Sartar-Pielak led her team at 74%, while Chargers skip Taylor Reese-Hansen curled 79% for Camosun.

The gold medal finals will feature the Fanshawe College Falcons (7-1) against the Camosun College Chargers (6-2), and the bronze medal game will feature the NAIT Ooks (4-4) taking on the MacEwan University Griffins (4-4). The medal games will begin at 12:00 Noon MST. 

Men’s Semi-Finals

The first semi-final featured the undefeated #1 seeded Douglas College Royals (8-0) versus the #4 seeded University of Alberta-Augustana Vikings (3-5). True to the form shown all week, the Royals executed flawlessly and provided the Vikings few opportunities to make a move throughout the game.

The Royals score one in the 1^st end, followed by a steal of one in the 2^nd to make it a 2-0 game early on. From there, the Douglas College team tried to keep a clean sheet and limit any opportunities for the Vikings to swing momentum in their favour. The Royals went on to defeat the Vikings 4-1 behind a strong team effort of 80% curled by the foursome, while Augustana struggled to find an answer and curled at only 67%.

The second semi-final matched up the #2 seeded Fanshawe College Falcons (6-2) with the #3 seeded NAIT Ooks (4-4). The Falcons jumped out to a quick 6-1 lead by the time the break came around after the 5^th end by scoring doubles in the 1^st, 4^th, and 5^th. The Ooks had a short-lived rally in the 6^th scoring two points of their own before the Falcons scored a dagger 5 points in the 7^th end on their way to a 12-4 rout of the Ooks.

Falcons second Tyler Twining was exceptional for Fanshawe by curling at 94% for the match, with the team putting in a noteworthy effort on the stat line with a collective 84%. Score aside, the Ooks curled quite well statistically at 79% for the match and led by an impressive 88% from lead Sam Stephenson, but just could not find an answer for the Falcons.

The gold medal finals will feature the Douglas College Royals (8-0) against the Fanshawe College Falcons (6-2), and the bronze medal game will feature the NAIT Ooks (4-4) taking on the University of Alberta-Augustana Vikings (3-5). The medal games will begin at 12:00 Noon MST.

Final Standings

The Gold Medal Matches will be available for viewing online at https://www.acactv.ca/en/channel/ccaa.

More Information:

Championship Website / Live Scoring / Webstream / Photos