February 13, 2015 (MONTAGUE, PEI) - The 2015 Subway AUS Curling Championships commenced Friday at the Montague Curling Club in Montague, P.E.I.
Five women’s teams and four men’s teams from across Atlantic Canada will be competing throughout the weekend for their respective AUS banners.
(Note: The Memorial University men’s squad was unable to make it to Montague to a storm that cancelled flights out of St. John’s Thursday and Friday.)
The first draw of the championship started at 1:00pm with three games.
On the men’s side the Dalhousie Tigers, skipped by Marc Gordon, posted a four-point end in the third and eventually shook hands after the eighth end as they defeated the StFX X-Men and skip Alexander Gillis by a score of 8-1.
The opening draw also featured a pair of women’s match-ups as the host UPEI Panthers faced the StFX X-Women and the Dalhousie Tigers took on the Saint Mary’s Huskies.
The host Panthers, led by skip Veronica Smith, picked up a steal of four in the fifth end to take 9-2 lead and went on to shake hands after the eighth for a 9-3 final.
In the final game of the first draw, Ashley Francis and her Saint Mary’s Huskies squad held off the Dalhousie Tigers in the tenth end for a 9-6 win.
In the evening draw, the UNB Varisty Reds team skipped by Josh Barry saw their first action of the championship against the Saint Mary’s Huskies and skip Scott Babin. The Huskies scored a deuce in the seventh end to cut UNB’s lead to 6-5, but the V-Reds responded in the next end with four-points and a handshake to take the game 10-5.
The UNB women’s team, led by skip Cathlia Ward, also played their first game of the championship, facing the Dalhousie Tigers. In an entertaining battle that went the full 10 ends and where neither team gave up a steal, the Tigers eventually prevailed with a single in the last end to post a 5-4 victory.
In the last game of the evening featuring the host UPEI Panthers and the Saint Mary’s Huskies, fans were treated to a back and forth affair that saw the Panthers steal a single point in the tenth end to make it 6-6 and force an extra end.
UPEI skip Veronica Smith executed a hit and roll with her last rock, but SMU’s Sara Spafford was left with a draw to the four-foot, which she didn’t miss to give the Huskies a 7-6 win and a perfect 2-0 record after Day 1 of the championship.
The 2015 Subway AUS curling championship resumes Saturday morning at 9:00am with three games.
STANDINGS AFTER DAY 1
MEN
| TEAM | Wins | Losses |
| Dalhousie (M) | 1 | 0 |
| UNB (M) | 1 | 0 |
| Saint Mary's (M) | 0 | 1 |
| StFX (M) | 0 | 1 |
WOMEN
| TEAM | Wins | Losses |
| Saint Mary's (W) | 2 | 0 |
| UPEI (W) | 1 | 1 |
| Dalhousie (W) | 1 | 1 |
| UNB (W) | 0 | 1 |
| StFX (W) | 0 | 1 |
SCHEDULE (all times are LOCAL)
Live results are available here: http://curlatlantic.com/scoreboard/#/competitions/1546-2015-subway-aus-curling-championship/scoreboard
Friday, February 13th
2:00 p.m. - Draw # 1
7:00 p.m. - Draw # 2
Saturday, February 14th
9:00 a.m. - Draw # 3 (Ice 2 and Ice 3 Live on www.AUStv.ca)
2:00 p.m. – Draw # 4 (Ice 2 and Ice 3 Live on www.AUStv.ca)
7:00 p.m. – Draw # 5 (Ice 2 and Ice 3 Live on www.AUStv.ca)
Sunday, February 15th
9:00 a.m. – Semifinals (Live on www.AUStv.ca)
1:00 p.m. - WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL (Live on www.AUStv.ca)
1:00 p.m. - MEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP (Live on www.AUStv.ca)
Two squads from this year's event, the winning teams and runner-up teams, will represent the conference at the 2015 CIS / CCA Curling Championships hosted by Wilfrid Laurier University, March 18-21.
For more information on the 2015 CIS Curling Championship, visit the event website at: http://english.cis-sic.ca/championships/curling/index.