By Paul Wiecek – Winnipeg Free Press
MORRIS — And 21 years later, it was deja vu all over again.
Twice in 21 years, Prince Edward Island skip Robert Campbell has played in the Canadian Mixed Curling Championship. Both times, the event was held in Manitoba. Both times, Campbell made it to the final. Both times, he played the host province.
And both times, thanks to a 4-3 win over Brandon’s Terry McNamee in Saturday’s final at the Morris Curling Club, Campbell went home a Canadian mixed curling champion.
“Must be the water, I guess,” the 44-year-old Charlottetown skip laughed. “Fond memories. I barely remember Brandon (in 1989), but gathering around the trophy and taking pictures it really kicked in again… My team was really solid all week.
“They played well, they stuck with my decisions and my stupid line-calls at times and played really well in front of me.”
Campbell was supported by six-time P.E.I. women’s champion Rebecca Jean MacPhee, second Robbie Doherty and lead Jackie Reid. Two of the team’s four members will now go on to represent Canada at the World Mixed Doubles, April 15-24 in St. Paul, Minn.
It was a disappointing finish for McNamee, who was playing in his fourth Canadian Mixed.
The Brandon skip made it to the semifinal in two previous appearances, so Saturday’s appearance in the final was an improvement on those outings.
But it was small consolation, to be sure.
“It’s never nice winning second,” McNamee said, “but it’s better than winning third or fourth or fifth… We have a good team and we played well. And if we get back next time, maybe we’ll win it all.”
There should be some satisfaction for the Manitoba foursome — third Lana Hunter, second Allan Lawn and lead Lisa Blixhavn. The rink was outstanding early in the week and then overcame a three-game losing streak by rattling off impressive wins — 7-6 in a tiebreaker game Friday night over Ontario and then 8-3 in the semifinal Saturday morning over Nova Scotia — to advance to the final.
P.E.I. was the best team in Morris all week, finishing first in the round-robin at 10-1 and advancing straight to the final. Manitoba was the only team to beat P.E.I. in the round-robin and battled them hard again Saturday.
In a game where no one scored more than a single and both teams stole once — P.E.I. in the third when McNamee hit and rolled too far and Manitoba in the ninth when McNamee welded a Manitoba stone to the button — the difference came down to one rock in the 10th end.
Technically, McNamee lost the game on his last rock of the event — a low percentage double-raise takeout attempt that came nowhere near the target stone and handed Campbell the title without him having to throw his last rock.
But the game was actually lost one Manitoba stone earlier, when McNamee attempted to win the race to the four-foot with his first rock but crashed on a guard.
“If I make my first one on 10 here, we probably win,” McNamee said. “It just curled a little more than we thought. So, a 4-3 game, that’s not bad.”
And a 4-3 win in P.E.I.? That’s fantastic, said MacPhee. “This is going to be huge back home. We’ve had curling in the news all week. And with the (national) Scotties coming to Charlottetown (in February), it just brings curling right to the top of the sports page.”
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Prince Edward Island, skipped by Robert Campbell of Charlottetown, captured the Canadian Mixed Curling Championship Saturday in Morris, defeating Manitoba in a squeaker, 4-3.
For Campbell, it was his second Mixed title, after winning the 1989 renewal in Brandon, coincidentally the last time Manitoba had hosted the championship.
Campbell becomes the seventh skip to win the Mixed twice, behind only three-time winner, Larry McGrath of Saskatchewan, but he’s the first skip to win Mixed titles so many years apart…21.
It was the first Canadian Mixed title for third Rebecca Jean MacPhee, second Robbie Doherty and lead Jackie Reid.
It was also Prince Edward Island’s third crown since The Mixed began in 1964 in Toronto. Skip Peter Gallant won his province’s first title in 1987.
As the top ranked team in the round robin with a 10-1 mark, Prince Edward Island had earned a bye to today’s final. Its only loss had come at the hands of Manitoba, an 8-5 decision in Draw 5.
Meanwhile, Manitoba had clawed its way out of a three-way tie for third to reach the final, first beating Ontario in the second tiebreaker Friday night for third place, then dusting Nova Scotia, 8-3 Saturday morning, in the semi-final.
Today’s championship final proved a battle, as the ‘Islanders’ opened with a single in the second and a steal of one in the third for a 2-0 lead. But Manitoba cut the deficit to 2-1 with a single in the fifth end.
Then, after a blanked sixth, Campbell counted one in the seventh for a 3-1 advantage. However, the host province wouldn’t quit, as McNamee responded with one in the eighth, then a steal of one in the ninth, to square the match at three coming home.
But Campbell’s team was up to the task and McNamee was unable to remove a buried PEI counter with his final rock, so Campbell didn’t have to throw his last stone.
“Rebecca Jean made a raise back,” said the 44-year-old Campbell. “We had one buried in the top four. He (McNamee) tried a double runback and just missed, so I didn’t have to throw the last one, fortunately.
“They (Manitoba) played really well all week long. They were one of the top teams , definitely. The first time we met them, the game could have gone either way. I didn’t trust my in-turn all week. But the chance for redemption (today) was great.
“I forgot all about it (World Mixed Doubles) ,” laughed Campbell, when reminded about the fact that two players from the winning team will now represent Canada at the 2011 World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship, April 15-24 in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Campbell, who had been out-curled percentage-wise by McNamee for most of the contest, eventually emerged with a slight edge, 75%-74%, although Manitoba held a 78%-75% team margin.
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At the World Curling Tour’s SunLife Classic in Brantford, Ontario, Jennifer Jones, Cathy Overton-Clapham and Brett Richards of Winnipeg are all alive in the women’s B-event, while Mike McEwen of Winnipeg won his opening game on the men’s side…….
Manitoba’s Terry McNamee defeated Ontario 7-6 Friday night to win the 2nd tiebreaker game of the Canadian Mixed Curling Championship in Morris. McNamee advances to Saturday morning’s semi-final game against Nova Scotia. Prince Edward Island clinched first place and a bye into Saturdays 1-30pm final.
And, at the Manitoba curling tour’s Interlake Classic in Stonewall, Kerri Einarson, Chelsea Carey, Calee Neufeld and Jill Thurston were the women’s winners on Friday night while 3 mens teams are 2-0, including David Bohn, Reid Caruthers and David Hamblin..
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The World Curling Federation (WCF) is the world governing body for curling accreditation, with offices in Perth, Scotland. It was formed out of the International Curling Federation (ICF), when the push for Olympic Winter Sport status was made. The name was changed in 1991.
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MORRIS, Man. — Manitoba’s Terry McNamee used a breakout seventh end against Nova Scotia’s Paul Flemming on Saturday to advance to the Canadian mixed curling championship final.
McNamee broke a 3-3 tie with three points in the seventh, then added one each in the eighth and ninth ends to cruise by Flemming 8-3 in the semifinal.
McNamee will try for his first mixed title when he plays P.E.I. skip Robert Campbell in the final Saturday afternoon.
Campbell finished 10-1 in the round robin and last won the tournament in 1989.
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