Gryphon curling men to play for medal at national tournament
PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE, Man. – The Guelph Gryphons are to conclude their participation in the men’s category of the U Sports curling championships Sunday by playing for a medal.
The Gryphs finished the round-robin portion of the national championship tied for fourth with the Regina Cougars at 3-4. Guelph won the tie-breaker thanks to a 9-5 victory over Regina Friday.
The Laurier Golden Hawks finished round-robin play unbeaten at 7-0 and they were followed by the Alberta Golden Bears are at 6-1 and Dalhousie Tigers at 5-2, both losses coming on Saturday. Guelph and Regina tied at 3-4 while Brandon finished at 2-5 and the Brock Badgers and Memorial Sea-Hawks tied at 1-6.
Saturday, the Gryphs were edged 9-7 by the previously winless Brandon Bobcats before they bounced back to slip by the Brock Badgers 7-5.
Brandon had two three-enders in its win over the Gryphs. The match was a see-saw affair with the lead changing hands throughout the game. The Gryphs scored two in the first end and Brandon responded with three in the second. One in the third and another one in the fourth put Guelph back in front, but Brandon tied it with one in the fifth and the Gryphs went ahead again with one in the sixth. The Bobcats scored two in the seventh and the Gryphs tied it again with one in the eighth. Brandon scored three in the ninth to pull ahead for good although the Gryphs did score one in the 10th.
The Gryphs had to come from behind for the win over Brock as the Badgers led 2-0 after the second end, 3-1 after the fourth and 4-3 after the sixth. Guelph the scored in three consecutive to shoot ahead as the Gryphs counted two in the seventh, one in the eighth and one in the ninth before the Badgers completed the game with one in the 10th.
Sunday’s semifinals pit the Gryphs against Laurier and Dalhousie against Alberta. Winners advance to the gold-medal match while the losers are to play in the bronze-medal match.
Members of the Guelph squad are skip Dylan Niepage, vice Nathan Marshall, second Sam Guilbeault, lead Ryan Yee and coach Steve Szymanski.
Guelph didn’t qualify for the U Sports championship tournament in the women’s category.
Alberta Pandas and New Brunswick Varsity Reds finished tied atop the women’s standings 6-1 while the Queen’s Gaels finished at 5-2. The McMaster Marauders were at 4-3 while the Dalhousie Tigers, Laurier Golden Hawks and Regina Cougars each finished at 2-5 and the Brandon Bobcats finished at 1-6.
Sunday’s semifinals in the women’s category are to match Alberta against McMaster and New Brunswick against Queen’s.
- Guelph Sports Journal