Team Tardi is just two wins away from another national championship.
The B.C. team at the 2017 Canadian U18 Boys Curling Championship in Moncton, New Brunswick finished the round robin stage of the five-day competition in first place with a 7-1 (win-loss) record. Skipped by Cloverdale’s Tyler Tardi, B.C. will play Northern Ontario in a semifinal match tomorrow (Saturday) at 9 a.m. (PDT). Gold and bronze medal games will be played at 1 p.m.
Tardi’s only loss was this morning, when Team B.C. fell 7-5 to Northern Ontario to fall to 6-1.
“The arena ice had changed from earlier in the week, and it caught us off guard,” said Paul Tardi, Tayler’s father and coach of the B.C. team. “It led to a couple of shots being just off a bit.”
Needing a win over Saskatchewan in the final round robin game Friday evening to clinch first place, Tardi skipped the team to a convincing 8-2 victory. B.C. opened the scoring with two in the second end, then stole four in the third to jump to a 6-0 lead.
“We knew this game was for the hammer (throughout the playoff) Saturday, and we focused on the technical part of the game,” said Paul Tardi. “We concentrated on hitting and sticking early in each end, as opposed to having to draw for two or three. And it worked.”
Saskatchewan tried to chip away at the lead, but shook hands after the Tardi group stole one in the seventh end. Team B.C. isn’t concerned about having to play the only team they have lost to in the semifinal round.
“The key will be to score early, then hold the lead,” said Paul Tardi.
