Golden Hawks pick up silver, bronze at CIS / Curling Canada Curling Championship

(Photo: Trevor Mahoney)

WATERLOO, Ont. – The Alberta Golden Bears and Pandas swept the 2015 men's and women's CIS-Curling Canada Championship titles Saturday afternoon, becoming the second university to sweep the team titles.

The last team to sweep the titles was the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks in 2007-08, the inaugural year the championships were held.

Two-time World Junior champion Kelsey Rocque and her rink defeated the Thompson Rivers Wolfpack 7-6 to claim Alberta's first-ever national gold medal on the women's side. After going 6-1 in the round robin, Alberta defeated the host Golden Hawks 6-2 in the semifinal.

The Canada West silver medalists played a tight first half of the gold medal draw, trailing 5-3 at the end of six before picking up a huge four in the seventh end to go ahead 7-5. Thompson Rivers tried to claw back, picking up a single in the ninth, but Rocque and her rink ran the Wolfpack out of rocks to secure the win.

Alberta's vice Taylor MacDonald curled an outstanding 89 per cent to help lead Alberta to the victory.

On the men's side, Alberta defeated the host Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks 6-4 to claim their second national title in school history. After defeating the Winnipeg Wesmen Saturday morning in a rematch of the Canada West championship, the Golden Bears played a tight game with the Hawks.

In the first half of the game, both teams combined for three blanks and a score of 1-1 before Alberta grabbed two in the sixth end. Facing at least four rocks, Laurier skip Aaron Squires drew perfectly to the button to settle for one in the seventh. The teams kept it close, with Laurier coming within one point of Alberta heading home, but Alberta skip Thomas Scoffin played a near perfect game and made a perfect tap for the win. Scoffin curled 90 per cent in the final to lead Alberta.

As for the Hawks, Laurier takes home the silver medal after finishing third in last year's national championship in Regina, Sask.

The bronze medal games finished with the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks defeating the UPEI Panthers 8-3 on the women's side, and the Winnipeg Wesmen defeating Saint Mary's 6-4 on the men's side.

Laurier and UPEI played a close first half of the match, exchanging singles until the Hawks picked up two in the seventh end. In the eighth, UPEI skip Veronica Smith came up light on her final rock to give Laurier a steal of four, sealing their fate.

This would be Laurier's second bronze in as many years on the national level. The women have medalled at seven of eight national tournaments, picking up four gold and three bronze overall.

Finally, on the men's, the Wesmen would take advantage of a couple deuce ends to defeat the Huskies. After being up 2-1 in the fourth, the Canada West champions stole two in fifth to keep a lead before sealing the victory in the eighth with another deuce.

Following the final games, the CIS All-Canadians and award winners were announced. All-Canadians were determined by a combination of shooting percentages and plus-minus of the players during round robin play.

DAY 4 SCORES

SEMIFINALS
Alberta 7 - Winnipeg 1 (men)
Wilfrid Laurier 9 - Saint Mary's 2 (men)
Thompson Rivers 10 - UPEI 1 (women)
Alberta 6 - Wilfrid Laurier 2 (women)

MEDAL GAMES
GOLD Alberta 6 - Wilfrid Laurier 4 (men)
GOLD Alberta 7 - Thompson Rivers 6 (women)
BRONZE Winnipeg 6 - Saint Mary's 4 (men)
BRONZE Wilfrid Laurier 8 - UPEI 3 (women)

FINAL ROUND ROBIN STANDINGS

MEN
*Alberta 7-0
*Wilfrid Laurier 6-1
*Saint Mary's 4-3
*Winnipeg 4-3
Toronto 3-4
Western 2-5
UNB 1-6
Dalhousie 1-6

WOMEN
*Thompson Rivers 7-0
*Alberta 6-1
*Wilfrid Laurier 5-2
*UPEI 3-4
Brock 3-4
Guelph 3-4
Saint Mary's 1-6
StFX 0-7

* Advanced to playoffs

2015 CIS ALL-CANADIANS AND AWARD WINNERS

1ST TEAM MEN
Skip: Aaron Squires - Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks
Vice: Richard Krell - Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks
Second: Jason Ginter - Alberta Golden Bears
Lead: Fraser Reid - Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks

1ST TEAM WOMEN
Skip: Kelsey Rocque - Alberta Pandas
Vice: Amanda Colter - Saint Mary's Huskies
Second: Alison Kotylak - Alberta Pandas
Lead: Claire Tully - Alberta Pandas

2ND TEAM MEN
Skip: Thomas Scoffin - Alberta Golden Bears
Vice: Evan Asmussen - Alberta Golden Bears
Second: Spencer Nuttall - Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks
Lead: Pedro Malvar - Toronto Varsity Blues

2ND TEAM WOMEN
Skip: Corryn Brown - Thompson Rivers Wolfpack
Vice: Jane DiCarlo - UPEI Panthers
Second: Samantha Fisher - Thompson Rivers Wolfpack
Lead: Ashley Nordin - Thompson Rivers Wolfpack

R.W. PUGH FAIR PLAY AND SPORTSMANSHIP AWARDS
Men: Pedro Malvar - Toronto Varsity Blues
Women: Aleya Quilty - UPEI Panthers

NATIONAL COACHING AWARDS
Men: Carole MacLean - Saint Mary's Huskies
Women: Gary Coderre - Alberta Pandas

Source: Shelby Blackley, Championship Communications Assistant