It may have been a mild January weekend outside, but inside the Quesnel Curling Centre, the frosty breath of 96 curlers could be seen floating to the rafters as they hit the ice and “hurried hard” during the 60th annual Ladies Wheel n’ Spiel bonspiel Jan. 24-26.
The “A” final saw Brenda Ernst’s team matched up with Lori Wawryk’s squad.
This back-and-forth battle saw Team Wawryk on the scoreboard first, as they scored three in the first end.
Team Ernst wouldn’t be phased, however, as they drew down and cleared out the house in the second end to sit two, cutting their opponents’ lead to one.
Team Ernst continued to roll in the third and looked to take their first lead of the match as they sat two, but Team Wawryk made a raise with the hammer to count Team Ernst down to one point in the end.
Team Wawryk wouldn’t let the game stay tied for long however as they made a big takeout in the fourth with the hammer to sit three points.
Team Ernst, having been three points behind earlier in the game, kept their cool and began to chip away at the lead, making a beautiful hit-roll shot with the hammer to sit one point in the fifth end.
The sixth end saw Team Wawryk come up short on their final rock, allowing Team Ernst to steal two points and tie this exciting game, as spectators were glued to the glass and the screens in the curling centre.
The seventh end was scoreless but saw skip Wawryk throw her rock through the house to secure the hammer in the eighth,
The game came down to inches in the eighth and final end, but it was Team Ernst who came from behind twice in the match, who would score one final point for the 7-6 win.
Team Ernst is made up of skip Brenda Ernst, third Gay Carter, second Josie Jarvis and lead Brenda Bare.
Brenda Ernst said she and her team took the tournament game by game and never let the thought of playing or winning the final pull their focus away from the match at hand.
“We take each game one game at a time, and you play as hard as you can play and you do all you can do, and at the end of the game, someone wins and someone loses,” she said. “We didn’t go in with great expectations except to curl as good as we can curl and have fun.”
The ‘B” final saw Team Jones take on Team Dugood.
This matchup saw Team Jones take the lead in the first end and never give it up, as they won the game 7-3 in seven ends.
Team Jones is made up of skip Traci Jones, third Kay Thompson, second Louise Castle and lead Sheri Emmond.
The “C” final saw Team Sommerville and Team Needham battle it out in a tight match through three ends. However, Team Needham would pull away, winning the match 6-4 in eight ends. This was the second year in a row that Team Needham has won the “C” final.
Team Needham is made up of skip Wendy Needham, third Shari Needham, second Penny Yamamoto and lead Amy Saitz.
READ MORE: Wilf Smith Memorial Curling League Lions Cup Bonspiel a hit
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