World junior curling
The last shot in the extra end of Saturday’s final determined Team Canada’s fate at the World Junior Curling Championships in Liverpool, N.S.The Team Canada lineup of skip Selena Sturmay, third Abby Marks of St. Albert, second Kate Goodhelpsen and lead Paige Papley settled for silver when Sturmay’s draw slid too far as Vlada Rumiantseva of Russia stole the winning point in the 8-7 decision.
A three-spot in nine made it 7-5 for Team Canada and in 10 Russia scored a deuce to force the extra end.
Marks, 19, was graded at 83 per cent (79 per cent for draws and 89 per cent for takeouts) in the final as Team Canada finished at 76 per cent, compared to 75 per cent for Russia.
Team Canada qualified for the four-team playoffs by beating Russia 8-3 in the last round-robin game to finish in a three-way tie with Switzerland and Russia at 6-3 behind first-place China (8-1).
The semifinals were 8-2 for Canada over Switzerland and 8-6 for Russia over China.
In the round robin, Team Canada posted a 6-4 win against Switzerland and lost 8-7 in an extra end to China.
The U21 foursome, with alternate Karlee Burgess of Chester, N.S., and coach Amanda-Dawn St. Laurent, who curled out of St. Albert as a junior, went 11-0 at nationals as the seventh team to go undefeated in the competition.
The Sturmay rink, based out of the Saville Centre, will now represent Canada West at the Curling Canada/U SPORTS Canadian University Championship, March 15 to 19 at Fredericton, N.B.
U16 hockey bronze
Matt Savoie of St. Albert registered a natural hat-trick and added two assists for Team Alberta in Friday’s bronze-medal game at the Canada Winter Games in Red Deer.Savoie opened the scoring 13 minutes into the 12-0 route of Team Saskatchewan in the U16 male hockey tournament.
Defenceman Marc Lajoie of St. Albert also scored as Team Alberta rebounded from the 8-4 semifinal loss to Team Ontario despite a 44-26 shot advantage for the provincial hosts.
In the preliminary round, Team Alberta suffered a 4-3 overtime loss to Team Saskatchewan.
Savoie was the top goal scorer for Team Alberta with six and tied Dylan Guenther for the most points with 13 apiece in six games.
Forward Zac Ostapchuk finished with three goals and three assists and Lajoie had two goals and two assists.
Savoie, who was born on Jan. 1, 2004, and is the consensus No. 1 pick in the Western Hockey League bantam draft in May, plays for the Northern Alberta Xtreme’s midget prep team along with Lajoie, Ostapchuk and Guenther.
The five-foot-eight, 169-pound Savoie has racked up 29 goals and 66 points in 29 games for the Xtreme in the Canadian Sport School Hockey League.
High school curling
Provincial high school curling berths are on the line Thursday for the Paul Kane Blues and St. Albert Skyhawks.The metro Edmonton finals start 9 a.m. at the Ottewell in the men’s A-B final between Paul Kane and the Skyhawks and the mixed A-B final between Paul Kane and the Archbishop Jordan Scots.
Paul Kane (6-1) is seeded fifth in the 13-team double elimination men’s draw and has to beat the No. 1 Skyhawks (3-0) twice to advance to the March 7 to 9 provincials at St. Paul.
The Skyhawks – skip Nic Oake, third Chase Lozinsky, second Owen Pacholok and lead David Howes – are undefeated in eight seeding and playoff games this season as the defending provincial champions.
Paul Kane qualified for the men’s final by defeating the No. 2 Bev Facey Falcons 7-5 last week.
Paul Kane’s five-man lineup consists of Carson Davis, Ryan Boljkovac, Ethan Palmer, Andrew Nowell and Tanner Schnirer.
In the eight-team mixed double elimination draw, No. 4 Paul Kane (4-1) has to defeat the No. 1 Scots (3-0) twice for a provincial berth.
Paul Kane’s lone loss was 10-8 to the Scots in the A semifinals.
Last week’s B semifinal was 10-9 over the No. 2 Leduc Tigers.
Paul Kane’s six-person mixed rink is made up of Rodney Erickson-Fitl, Anna Smith, Owen Woolam, Brennin Turner, Cassandra Siwiec-Hlewka and Ethan Dorn.
Last year the Skyhawks lost the A final to the Strathcona Lords 8-5 but the Lords were unable to field a full team for provincials in St. Albert so the Skyhawks were declared the metro Edmonton reps and the Paul Kane foursome of Nowell, Davis, Boljkovac and Schnirer was the host rink.
The Skyhawks finished 3-2 and Paul Kane was 5-2 in last year’s 10-team metro Edmonton double elimination draw.
