Golden Hawks defeat Alberta 7-4 to win CIS-Curling Canada Championship

KELOWNA, B.C. (March 23, 2016) – The Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks men's curling team capped off an incredible 2015-16 season on Wednesday as they won the CIS-Curling Canada Championship with a 7-4 victory over the Alberta Golden Bears at the Kelowna Curling Club.

Looking to avenge last year's defeat in the gold medal game on home ice at the KW Granite Club, and cap off what has been a five-year journey for the team, the Hawks were dominant against the Golden Bears from the first rock thrown as they captured the second CIS gold medal in team history.

The victory also earned the purple and gold, who featured skip Aaron Squires of St. Thomas, Ont., third Richard Krell of London, Ont., second Spencer Nuttall of Toronto, lead Fraser Reid of Ancaster, Ont., and alternate Russell Cuddie of London, Ont., the right to represent Canada at the 2017 FISU Winter Games to be hosted in Almaty, Kazakhstan next year.

"It's amazing," said Squires of the victory. "It's been a long time coming. We've worked really hard and to finally pull it off with this group of guys, it's an amazing feeling. I can't describe it in words."

After winning a CIS bronze medal two years ago, and the CIS silver medal last season, Laurier entered the playoff round on Wednesday with an opportunity to complete their march up the podium.

Taking on the Victoria Vikes in the semifinals to open the day, the Hawks scored three in the opening end and never looked back as they earned a 6-4 win. With Alberta also having won their semifinal, 9-3 over the Brock Badgers, the two teams set up the matchup for gold that most people had been anticipating since the championship began three days earlier.

Looking to turn around their fortunes that had seen Squires and his rink lose three consecutive meetings at the national championship to skip Thomas Scoffin and the Golden Bears, including a 6-4 decision in round robin play at this year's event, the Hawks switched up their tactics to start off the final.

Looking to play it a little more conservative and pick up the ice early, Laurier put their first couple of rocks in play to force Alberta to hit. The game plan worked as Laurier picked up the ice quicker than the Bears and although the two teams blanked the first end, Laurier appeared to be in control.

That confidence in their game became evident in the next two ends as Laurier, despite not holding last rock, controlled each of the ends. The result was a steal of one in both the second and third frames as the Hawks jumped out to a 2-0 lead.

After Alberta picked up a single in the fourth end, the turning point of the match came in the fifth. With the four foot packed with red and yellow stones, the Hawks managed to set up the angles right and with Squires final stone, he removed a yellow Alberta stone on the four foot to score a pair and take a 4-1 lead into the break.

Following the fifth end break, Laurier did not take their foot off the gas and continued to pressure Scoffin and his team, once again holding them to a single in the sixth end.

In the seventh, Laurier played it open but still found themselves with a chance to score two. However, they would need a great shot from their skip and Squires came through, doubling out a pair of Golden Bears' stones to score a pair, stretching the purple and gold's lead to 6-2.

The Hawks would earn another steal of one in the eighth end, all but securing the victory, and after Alberta only managed to score two in the ninth, the Golden Bears shook hands, giving Laurier the victory they had worked for the entire year.

For the game, it was the Hawks backend of Squires and Krell who were the difference makers as Krell curled a very impressive 93 percent while Squires shot 89 percent to outperform their counterparts, Scoffin and Karsten Sturmay, who each shot 71 percent.

"Rich is a fantastic shooter," said Squires of his vice. "He's certainly one of the best shooters out there. I know he always has the potential to curl in the nineties and it makes it a lot easier for me. Today, he was phenomenal and you can't ask for more than that. With our sweepers, they make shots for us as well and it's a real team effort."

The win puts the finishing touches on what has been an incredible season for the Golden Hawks. As a rink, Laurier posted a 20-2 record in the three competitions they competed in and outscored their opponents 169-65, scoring an average of 7.6 points per game while allowing less than three points per game. 

This rink will now spend the next year preparing to don the Canadian red and white as they will make the trip overseas to compete against the best university curling rinks in the world.

"I don't think it's really sunk in yet," added Squires on the chance to represent his country. "None of us have had that opportunity before and I think it will be pretty special to represent Canada and Laurier."

NOTES: Following the event, Squires was named a CIS First Team All-Canadian for the third straight season…teammates Krell and Nuttall were both named CIS Second Team All-Canadians…Squires and his rink will become the fourth Golden Hawks curling team to represent Canada at the FISU Winter Games following in the footsteps for Laura Crocker's rink who represented Canada in 2013 and Mike Anderson and Hollie Nicol who represented Canada in 2009