HUMBOLDT — Humboldt’s hometown rink held its own at the Canadian Curling Club Championships last week.
Skip Aaron Gaudreau, vice-skip Jason Schlachter, second Tom Johnson, and lead Joel McDonald went 3-3 in pool play in Leduc, Alta. Representing Saskatchewan, the Humboldt Curling Club squad won its first game in the double knockout round but fell in its next two to send its run at the prestigious event.
“It was great curling,” Johnson said. “Our team was competitive enough to win it all. Just needed a bounce here or there.”
The rink had played in the provincials four times together, but this was its first time representing Saskatchewan at nationals. Schlachter said it was an “all-around awesome opportunity to play in this caliber of event as a club curler.”
“The facility, the ice, the hospitality was all at a level we haven’t been able to experience before,” he said.
Johnson also praised the ice and first-class facility.
“[The] highlight of the week was seeing how the community got involved,” he said. “Volunteers did a fabulous job – top notch. Everyone was so friendly. Got treated like we were at the Brier. One of the best weeks of my life.”
As always with curling, camaraderie was part of the event. Schlachter said it “was a great opportunity to meet some great people representing all the provinces and territories.” Johnson said their competitors were all nice guys that they got to socialize with after the games.
“[I] will have friends for life after this,” he said.
The rink earned its spot at nationals by winning provincials in Melfort last March. Their success came after previously falling in the semifinals once and finals twice. With a summer in between provincials and nationals, as well as McDonald moving away from Humboldt for work, the rink didn’t have as much time together on the ice as it would have liked. However, the curlers proved they could compete.
After falling 6-5 in its opening game to Newfoundland and Labrador and conceding the second 10-3 to Nunavut, Team Saskatchewan reeled off three consecutive victories. It downed Northern Ontario, 3-2; New Brunswick, 9-6; and Alberta, 7-4.
In the final game of pool play, Team Sask conceded 6-1 to Ontario. The rink opened its double knockout round with a 6-4 victory over Quebec.
“It was close all game and came down to the last rock,” Schlachter said. “We put our last rock in a good spot, which forced them to make a hit for the win. They ended up jamming and it was a steal for us for the win.” In its next game the Saskatchewan rink conceded to Ontario, 8-3. It fell 7-5 to Yukon to wrap up its nationals experience.
