Neepawa teams compete at Travellers Curling Championship
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- Published on Tuesday, March 21, 2017
By Eoin Devereux
The Neepawa Press/Neepawa Banner
A pair of teams based out of the Neepawa Curling Club recently participated in the Travellers Curling Club Provincial Championship in Winnipeg. Grant Babcock’s team competed in the men’s event, while Darla Hanke’s squad were involved in the woman’s event.
On Thursday, Mar. 16, Team Hanke put in a solid first night effort, defeating Marla Boyd of the Pembina Curling Club 7-4. They returned to the rink for a pair of games on St. Patrick’s Day. The first match-up saw them face Tammy Paddock of The Pas Curling Club. A amazing seven point fourth end handed Hanke and her teammates a 12-3 win. She followed that up with an equally impressive 9-5 triumph over Judy Colwell (East St. Paul). That ensured Hanke went into the final day of the round robin with a perfect 3-0 record.
Hanke’s dominant run continued into Saturday, Mar. 18, as her team defeated Marlene Lang (St. Vital) 4-3 and Liza Park (Deloraine) 6-5. With these victories, Hanke headed into the semi-finals with a perfect 5-0 record.
Unfortunately, a trip to the finals was not to be, as the Stacey Fordyce rink from Brandon would score three points in the seventh end and hold on to an 8-5 win. Fordyce’s rink would go on to claim the championship, with a 5-2 win over Shannon Gillis (Fort Garry) in the final day of competition.
As for Babcock’s team on the men’s side of the bracket, they opened up the tournament with a dominant performance, blanking Gilles Rondeau of Lorette 7-0.
The following day, Babcock’s team had a pair of round robin games. The early draw would see them challenged by Andrew Atkinson of the St Vital Curling Club. This game was a close one, but it was Atkinson who collected the 7-6 victory.
To close out St. Paddy’s Day, Babcock challenged Jared Schumann of Gillam. Three points from Schumann in the sixth end, helped his crew to the 8-5 win. For Babcock, the pair of losses on the day dropped his team’s tournament record to 1-2.
Heading into the final day of the round robin, Babcock would need to win both of his scheduled games to have any chance at the playoffs. Unfortunately, it was not to be, as he split the day, defeating Scott Barth (Assiniboine) 8-1, but falling to Dave Boehmer (Petersfield) 5-4. Babcock ended the round robin with a 2-3 record, just outside the championship round. As for the men’s side final, Mark Anderson and his team from the Riverview Curling Club won the event, toppling Scott Barth’s crew 8-2.
