Marlee Powers and Luke Saunders of Halifax, Nova Scotia won 6-5 over Papley/van Amsterdam in the opening draw streamed on Curling Canada's Plus platform. WATCH REPLAY ($) Canadian mixed doubles teams from across the country will began play at the 2024 Canadian Mixed Doubles Curling Championship with top seeded Lauria Walker and Kirk Muyres, ranking 4th on the World Curling Team Rankings opening with a 7-4 win over sibling duo of Madison and Rylan Kleiter of Saskatoon. Other winners on the opening draw included another sibling duo of Jackie McCormick and Trevor Bonot of Stratton, Ontario, winning 7-6 over the daughter/father duo of Jaelyn and Jim Cotter. Chaelynn Kitz and Brayden Stewart of Saskatoon won 11-3 over Ruth Siciliano and Tyler Williams of Whitehorse, while Andrea Kelly (last minute fill-in for Rachel Homan) and Tyler Tardi won 7-4 over Laurie St-George and Felix Asselin (#12) of Montreal. SCOREBOARD | TEAMS | DRAW 2 LIVE STREAM ($) Action on the ice continues at 9 p.m. (all times Atlantic) at the Aitken University Centre at the University of New Brunswick and the Capital Winter Club. Thirty-two teams are vying for the opportunity to win the national championship and represent Canada at the 2024 World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship in Ostersund, Sweden, from April 20-27. A win at the national championship would put Laura Walker (Edmonton) and Kirk Muyres (Humboldt, Sask.) in familiar territory. The duo represented Canada at the 2018 World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship, also hosted in Ostersund. Walker and Muyres, the top-ranked team on the Canadian Mixed Doubles Rankings (CMDR), would love a return trip to worlds to improve its bronze-medal performance six years ago. The 32-team field is divided into four pools of eight and features 12 provincial/territorial champions, along with 20 qualified teams from the CMDR. Teams play a seven-game round-robin schedule from Sunday evening through Wednesday, with 12 teams advancing to the single knockout playoffs, which begin on Thursday morning. The four pool winners earn byes directly into the quarterfinals on Thursday at 7 p.m., while the teams with the following eight best records, regardless of the pool, will compete in the opening playoff draw at 1 p.m. The semifinals are scheduled for Friday at 9 a.m., with the bronze-medal game at 12:15 p.m. and the gold-medal game at 1 p.m. There will be no tiebreaker games. All ties are broken based on head-to-head results and if that doesn't resolve the tie, the pre-game Last Shot Draw totals will rank the teams. When it comes to contenders, Walker and Muyres aren't the only team in the mix. Reigning Canadian mixed doubles champions Jennifer Jones and Brent Laing of Horseshoe Valley, Ont., return with the goal of becoming the first team to win back-to-back mixed doubles championships. Jocelyn Peterman and Brett Gallant, of Chestermere, Alta., are also looking for a record-extending third Canadian mixed doubles championship. Fredericton has boded well for Peterman and Gallant. The last time they won the Canadian title was in 2019, when Fredericton was the host city. In addition to representing Canada, the winning team also leaves Fredericton with $35,000. The silver-medal team wins $20,000, the bronze-medal team earns $17,000, and the fourth-place team receives $14,000. Quarterfinalists earn $10,000, while teams that qualify for the opening playoff draw earn $6,000. The road to representing Canada at the Olympics will also begin in Fredericton. The top three teams at this event earn berths into the 2025 Canadian Mixed Doubles Trials (Dec. 30-Jan. 4 at Liverpool, N.S.), which will determine Canada's mixed doubles team for the 2026 Olympics in Italy. Here is a list of all the teams competing: Pool A Laura Walker/Kirk Muyres, Edmonton/Humboldt, Sask. Team New Brunswick, Melissa Adams/Alex Robichaud, Fredericton Laurie St-Georges/Félix Asselin, Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Que. Chaelynn Kitz/Brayden Stewart, Minnedosa, Man. Madison Kleiter/Rylan Kleiter, Saskatoon Audrey Laplante/Jasmin Gibeau, Gatineau, Que. Tyler Tardi/Andrea Kelly, Calgary/Fredericton Team Yukon, Ruth Siciliano/Tyler Williams, Whitehorse Pool B Nancy Martin/Steve Laycock, Martensville, Sask. Jaelyn Cotter/Jim Cotter, Vernon, B.C. Paige Papley/Evan Van Amsterdam, Edmonton Lauren Cheal/Greg Cheal, Sherbrooke, Que. Team Nova Scotia, Marlee Powers/Luke Saunders, Halifax Team Alberta, Amanda Sluchinski/Aaron Sluchinski, Airdrie Team Quebec, Kelly Tremblay/Pierre Lanoue, Clermont/Boucherville Team Northern Ontario, Jackie McCormick/Trevor Bonot, Stratton Pool C Jennifer Jones/Brent Laing, Horseshoe Valley, Ont. Team British Columbia, Taylor Reese-Hansen/Corey Chester, Victoria Lisa Weagle/John Epping, Ottawa/Toronto Riley Sandham/Brendan Craig, Guelph, Ont. Émilia Gagné/Pierre-Luc Morissette, Ville de Quebec Lauren Wasylkiw/Shane Konings, Unionville, Ont. Team Saskatchewan, Christie Gamble/Dustin Kalthoff, Saskatoon Team Newfoundland & Labrador, Jess Wiseman/Greg Smith, St. John's Pool D Jocelyn Peterman/Brett Gallant, Chestermere, Alta. Jennifer Armstrong/Tyrel Griffith, Rothesay, N.B./Kelowna Jessica Zheng/Victor Pietrangelo, Niagara Falls, Ont. Anne-Sophie Gionest/Robert Desjardins, Chicoutimi/Riverbend, Que. Team Manitoba, Kadriana Lott/Colton Lott, Winnipeg Beach Veronique Bouchard/Jean-Francois Charest, Chicoutimi, Que. Team Ontario, Lynn Kreviazuk/David Mathers, Ottawa Team Prince Edward Island, Jenny White/Ed White, Crapaud Select games will be streamed live on Curling Canada's streaming platform, Curling Canada +. |