Banner Season: Curling competition narrows as quarterfinalists are set
Welland, Ont. (C/O Brock Badgers) - Eight women’s and men’s teams remain in championship contention after an intense second day of pool play at the 2026 OUA Curling Championships, held at the Welland Curling Club on Saturday, Feb. 7.
In the women’s competition, the Trent Excalibur continued to dominate in Pool A, collecting 7-2 and 7-3 wins to secure the No. 1 seed in the quarterfinals. Trailing 3-2 through seven ends to the Laurentian Voyageurs, Trent pulled off an impressive five-ender in the final frame to continue their undefeated tournament. Joining the Excalibur in the quarterfinals are the McMaster Marauders, who earned consecutive 10-2 victories on the second day, finishing second in the pool with a 3-1 record.
The Queen’s Gaels claimed the top spot in Pool B going 3-1 in the group stage, punching their ticket to the quarterfinals. Entering Saturday 2-0, Queen’s dropped their first game against Trent 7-2 but followed it up with an 8-6 victory against the Carleton Ravens to secure the No. 3 seed in Sunday’s action.
In Pool C, the Laurier Golden Hawks took home the top spot, clinching the No. 4 spot in the bracket. Laurier needed just five ends in each of their two victories, besting the Western Mustangs 11-2 and the Windsor Lancers 9-0. The host Brock Badgers also advanced to Sunday’s quarterfinal action with a 7-6 win against the Waterloo Warriors and a 11-2 loss to the Guelph Gryphons to finish with a 3-1 record. Also from Pool C, the TMU Bold clinched a spot in the quarterfinals with a 7-6 win over Guelph that went to extra ends and a 6-4 loss against Waterloo.
Pool D saw the Guelph Gryphons advance, clinching the No. 2 seed with a 3-1 record. Following a narrow 7-6 extra-end loss to the TMU Bold, the Gryphons rebounded with a 7-2 decision over the Badgers. Waterloo dropped an earlier contest against Brock, but a 6-4 win over TMU clinched them the final remaining spot in the bracket.
On the men’s side, three teams from Pool A booked their spot into the quarterfinals. The defending OUA champion Carleton Ravens picked up right where they left off, securing the Pool A title and No. 2 overall seed with wins over the McMaster Marauders 7-1 and Ontario Tech 9-0 as they finished 4-0. Close behind were the York Lions, who ended their pool play competition with a 3-1 record. The Lions began Day 2 with a 9-3 victory over the TMU Bold in six ends, followed by a narrow 6-4 defeat to the Waterloo Warriors. Facing those same teams, the Laurentian Voyageurs fell to Waterloo 7-3 but clawed back to claim the No. 7 off a 6-2 win over TMU.
The Warriors finished 3-1 in the group stage, claiming Pool B and the No. 3 overall seed. They earned a 7-3 decision over the Laurentian Voyageurs in six ends and then bested the York Lions in a narrow clash 6-4.
Continuing their strong start from the first day, the Laurier Golden Hawks improved to 4-0 to take Pool C and the No. 1 overall seed heading into tomorrow’s action. Needing just five ends, the Golden Hawks defeated the Gryphons in commanding fashion 7-1. In the second game, Laurier earned a victory over the Western Mustangs 4-1. Also advancing to the quarterfinals were the Toronto Varsity Blues, who defeated the Queen’s Gaels 10-3 in six ends before taking down the host Brock Badgers 10-6. The Trent Excalibur experienced an eventful day. After dropping their first contest 5-2 to Brock in seven ends, they were deadlocked with Queen’s at seven apiece heading into the eighth end of Saturday’s final matchup. The Excalibur capitalized on having the hammer in that frame, earning three points to take a 10-7 victory and claiming the final spot in the men’s bracket.
In Pool D, the Guelph Gryphons claimed the top spot, advancing to the quarterfinals with a 3-1 record. Guelph clinched the No. 4 overall seed as they fell 7-1 to Laurier in the sixth draw but rebounded by taking down the Algoma Thunderbirds in a 9-1 decision that took just four ends.
Day 3 will feature quarterfinal, semifinal, and medal matches, starting with four women’s and four men’s quarterfinals at 9 a.m. The semifinals are set for 12:30 p.m., with the medal matches in both divisions set for 4 p.m. The medallists from each division will qualify for the 2026 U SPORTS Curling Championships from Feb. 17-21 at the Caledonian Curling Club in Regina, Sask.
Women’s quarterfinal matchups:
No. 1 Trent Excalibur vs. No. 8 Waterloo Warriors
No. 2 Guelph Gryphons vs. No. 7 TMU Bold
No. 3 Queen’s Gaels vs. No. 6 Brock Badgers
No. 4 Laurier Golden Hawks vs. No. 5 McMaster Marauders
Men’s quarterfinal matchups:
No. 1 Laurier Golden Hawks vs. No. 8 Trent Excalibur
No. 2 Carleton Ravens vs. No. 7 Laurentian Voyageurs
No. 3 Waterloo Warriors vs. No. 6 Toronto Varsity Blues
No. 4 Guelph Gryphons vs. No. 5 York Lions