MONTAGUE – The Debbie Rhodenhizer rink from Cornwall knew when they stepped out onto the ice at the Montague Curling Club for a P.E.I. Travelers Curling Club championship tiebreaker game earlier this week they’d need to win five games in a row to capture the women’s championship, and move on to represent P.E.I. at the Travelers national curling club championship.
The foursome of, from left, skip Jamie Newson, third Corey Miller, second Patrick Ramsay and lead Adam Arsenault from the Silver Fox in Summerside used three steals to down the Alan Inman squad from the Crapaud Community Curling Club 5-3 in the final of the recent P.E.I. Travelers curling club men’s championship in Montague. Newson finished 5-1 in the round robin. The Inman rink also included lead Nick Blanchard, second Nathan Hardy and third Calvin Smith. Dates and venue for the nationals have not yet been announced.
They capped off their run with a pair of extra-end victories Tuesday against the previously-unbeaten Melissa Morrow rink from the Silver Fox in Summerside.
Rhodenhizer and her rink of Nancy MacFadyen, mate; Sandra Sobey, second stone, and Cindy Nicholson, lead, who finished in a three-way tie for the third and final playoff position, won two tiebreakers just to make it to the evening semifinal game. For Rhodenhizer, every one of her games was an elimination match. Rhodenhizer defeated Sharon Horne from Western 7-6, scored four points in the final to ends to pull out a 6-3 decision over Crapaud’s Amanda Holm, and counted five points in the fourth end en route to another 6-3 win over Montague’s Tammy Dewar.
That set up Tuesday’s championship final against Morrow. Because Morrow went through round robin unbeaten, she would need to be beaten twice for Rhodenhizer to win the title. Challenge accepted.
Rhodenhizer rebounded from a 3-1 deficit after three ends to take a 4-3 lead into the eighth end. Morrow got a single to tie the game, and Rhodenhizer scored a single in the extra end for a 5-4 win.
Morrow had a 5-3 lead after six ends in the afternoon final, but Rhodenhizer scored one with hammer in seventh and then stole singles in the eighth and extra end for a 6-5 win.
Rhodenhizer’s foursome will join the Jamie Newson rink from the Silver Fox as the P.E.I. representatives at the national championship. Dates and location for the national have not been confirmed but the event has traditionally been held in November.
