OPENING DAY OF OCAA CURLING COMPLETE IN HAMILTON
HAMILTON, Ont. - Day 1 of the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association Curling Championships provided the usual ups-and-downs as the province's best rinks hit the ice at the Glendale Curling Club in Hamilton, on Valentine's Day, Thursday, Feb. 14.
In Draw 1 of women's play, Humber Hawks Cassie Paccanaro scored two in the sixth end and a single in the seventh to whip the host Mohawk Mountaineers led by Alex Nunes 7-1.
Fleming Knights, skipped by Paige Droog, upended Taylor Longo's Sault College Cougars 7-6, with a key single in the seventh end.
After a second round bye, the women were back and piling up the points.
The Sault downed Fanshawe Falcons, skipped by Kaitlyn Poirier 7-3 to square it's record at 1-1 and Humber won its second straight game, 12-4 over Fleming, 1-1.
The men hit the ice in the second draw and Humber, skipped by Sean Armstrong, whitewashed Spencer Cheesman's Fleming foursome 8-0. Fanshawe, led by Charlie Richard, beat Kurtwood McGuire's Confederation rink 8-3 and the Sault, skipped by Nick Servant tripped up Mohawk's Dylan Robertson, also 8-3.
Three men's games highlighted the third round. Fleming dumped Confederation 7-2, Fanshawe won its second straight game, 11-1 over Mohawk.
But in arguably the best game of the day the Sault scored a 7-6, nine end victory over Humber. The Hawks forced the extra end with a difficult shot. But the Cougars, with the hammer back, took their advantage and upped their record to 2-0. Humber fell to 1-1.
The mixed competition at the OCAA Championships is a three-team double round robin affair this year. Confederation's Faith Herbert nipped Fanshawe's Brett Henderson 5-4 in an extra end. Humber's Jonah Paquette also downed Fanshawe by a score of 9-5.
Day 2 gets under way Friday at 8 a.m. at Glendale.
In men's action, Fleming faces the Sault, Humber meets Fanshawe and Confederation plays Mohawk.
The Fanshawe women take on Mohawk and will battle it out in the women's division.
The day's other draws will be at 12 noon and 4 p.m.
For more information on the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association Curling Championships, visit the event's official site.
Championship Website: www.ocaa.com/curl
Source: Mohawk Mountaineers