The last rock had Team Jones so stressed that they couldn鈥檛 watch. Then, when they saw what it had hit, they cried with joy.
Jones faced Team Mitchell in the junior women鈥檚 final Jan. 8. In the 10th, Mitchell needed two points to force the match to an extra end.
Jessica Mitchell鈥檚 final shot wasn鈥檛 able to curl past a guard, giving Mitchell only one point, for a final score of 8-7.
鈥淚 definitely couldn鈥檛 watch that last shot. I might have had a heart attack. Once [my teammate] said that it was on the guard, I felt a little bit of hope, but you never know on this ice, because it was backing off all week,鈥� said skip Kaitlyn Jones of the win.
Regina-based Team Jones was forced to play an additional tie-breaking match that same morning against Team Wisniewski. Jones had lost to that team only a few days before.
Jones came out the winner after an extra end gave them a 10-9 lead. Their second game of the day didn鈥檛 start well, with the score at 3-1 in the fourth end.
鈥淲e struggled a little bit in the first half but picked it up in the second half so we were able to come out with that four-ender in the nine, and that really was the turning point for our game,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e definitely made a couple of mistakes in the tenth end, but it ended up working out.鈥�
Mitchell鈥檚 team, another Saskatoon-based group, consisted of Courtney Orsen, Amanda Waterfield and Danielle Waterfield. They won every game except the final. Jones won the provincial final alongside teammates Rayann Zerr, Shantel Hutton and Sara England.
听
Kleiter takes men鈥檚 final
The men鈥檚 final was decided halfway through the game on Jan. 8. Kleiter and Stewart traded one-point ends but in the fifth, Kleiter scored a decisive three points for a 6-2 finish.
鈥淚t turned out, we made a few shots early that were key, and then a couple misses, and we were able to take advantage of it,鈥� said skip Rylan Kleiter of the fifth end.
The Saskatoon-based team consisted of Joshua Mattern, Matthieu Taillon and Trevor Johnson.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e great for support, shot making, everything,鈥� said Kleiter of the team. 鈥淸We鈥檙e] best friends, on and off the ice.鈥�
Team Kleiter faced Team Stewart in the final, another Saskatoon product. Jared Latos, Tony Neufeld, Andrew Hodgson and Brayden Stewart lost only two games throughout the tournament.
Meanwhile, Team Kleiter remained undefeated throughout the week.
鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of a relief for us after losing two years in a row, getting a chance to win,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e knew we鈥檇 prepared well for the event and we were ready for it.鈥�
He said the team鈥檚 confidence was boosted after the first win of the tournament.
听
From Melfort to Victoria
The Jiffy Lube-sponsored provincial championships, which were held in Melfort from Jan. 4 to 8, saw 12 women鈥檚 teams and 12 men鈥檚 teams compete for the chance to represent Saskatchewan at the Canadian Junior Curling Championships in Victoria, B.C. later this month.
鈥淚t鈥檚 such an incredible feeling,鈥� said Jones of the upcoming competition. 鈥淲e鈥檙e hoping to at least make the playoff round. We don鈥檛 know what鈥檚 going to happen, but that鈥檚 our goal, to make playoffs at least.鈥�
Kleiter is also looking forward to the event.
鈥淚t鈥檚 always something special. I鈥檓 super excited.鈥�
