O'LEARY, P.E.I. — The Suzanne Birt and Eddie MacKenzie rinks won the opening games of the P.E.I. Scotties and Tankard provincial women’s and men’s curling championships on Friday.
The Birt rink, out of the Montague and Cornwall clubs, stole all 12 points in a 12-0 win over Montague’s Darlene London team.
MacKenzie and his rink from the Crapaud and Montague clubs defeated the Blair Jay foursome out of the Silver Fox in Summerside by a 10-4 score.
With two women’s and two men’s teams entered in the provincial championships, each event features a best-of-five series.
The teams will be back on the ice at the Maple Leaf Curling Club in O’Leary on Saturday. Draw 2 will begin at 11 a.m., with Draw 3 taking place at 4 p.m.
If necessary, the fourth and fifth draws will go on Sunday at 11 a.m. and 4 p.m.
In the Scotties opener, Birt counted single points in the first two ends. Birt blew the game open with a five-ender in the fourth end and another three in the fifth to open up a 10-0 advantage.
The teams shook hands after Birt scored a deuce in the sixth end.
Birt's rink includes team alternate Kathy O’Rourke playing third stone, second stone Meaghan Hughes and Michelle McQuaid at the lead position. O'Rourke, the team's alternate, is playing third stone as Marie Christianson cannot travel to Prince Edward Island from Nova Scotia due to COVID-19 restrictions.
MacKenzie took advantage of last-rock advantage in Game 1 of the Tankard series. He scored multiple points four times with the hammer, including three times in the second end to open up a 3-0 lead. Jay got two back in the fourth to make a 3-2 game, but MacKenzie countered another triple to go into the fifth-end break ahead 6-2.
MacKenzie scored deuces in the seventh and ninth ends, while Jay scored single points in the sixth and eighth ends. The teams shook hands after the ninth end.
MacKenzie’s teammates are third stone Tyler Smith, second stone Sean Ledgerwood and lead Ryan Lowery.
The winning rinks will represent P.E.I. at the Scotties Canadian women’s curling championship from Feb. 19 to 28 and the Tim Hortons Brier from March 6 to 14. Both national competitions will take place inside a bubble in Calgary.
