Juan de Fuca rinks skipped by Mariah Coulombe and Connor Croteau put some solid games together at last week’s Tim Hortons Junior Provincial Championships in Parksville.
In the women’s draw, Coulombe, with Bailey Tinkler at third, Jordan Koster at second and Sydney Brilz playing lead; went 5-2 in the round robin, good for third spot.
They lost the semifinal 7-2 to the Corryn Brown rink from Kamloops, who beat Coulombe 9-3 in the competition opener Dec. 29.
Team Coulombe won five of its next six games after the opening loss to nail down a playoff spot, but could only score in two ends in the rematch against Brown, who beat Sarah Daniels of Delta 8-2 in the final on Saturday.
After dropping a 13-6 game to the Brayden Carpenter rink from New Westminster’s Royal City club on Dec. 31, the Croteau rink beat the Jonathan Loeppky team from Prince Rupert 8-2. The Juan de Fuca foursome then beat eventual men’s champion Paul Henderson of the Victoria club 5-3 to finish in a tie for fourth with Carpenter at 4-3.
Henderson beating Cody Tanaka from Abbotsford 9-8 in Saturday’s final after downing Vernon’s Thomas Love 11-7 in the semis.
The Brown and Henderson rinks advance to the national championships in Cornerbrook, Nfld.
editor@goldstreamgazette.com