MOOSEJAWTODAY.COM -- It was back in late January that Team Saskatchewan put together their two rinks for the Canadian Wheelchair Curling Championship, knowing that the time would undoubtedly come that they’d have to face one another on the ice for real.
That time finally came on Sunday afternoon, and wouldn’t be much of a surprise to find out the defending champions had a better run of things in the opening draw at the Moose Jaw Curling Centre.
Team Canada competitor Gil Dash and his Saskatchewan 1 foursome rolled to an 11-1 victory over Rod Pederson and Saskatchewan 2 as the 11-team event got underway after months of preparation.
“Our team was ready to go,” said Dash, who took the ice with third Marie Wright, second Moose Gibson and lead Sheryl Pederson. “The ice is different than what we’re used to, it’s a lot more keen and we adjusted to it fast. The front end made their shots in the first couple of ends so that was key to getting off to a good start.”
The experience difference between the two teams is vast, with Dash and Wright both having extensive international experience in addition to four previous Canadian titles under their belt. Gibson is a three-time Canadian champion, and Pederson is going for her first.
Over on Saskatchewan 2, Pederson is in his second season as skip, while third Pete Andrews, second Mark Kennedy, lead Zahra Ehsani and lead Tara-Lee Hess are all rookies.
Dash and crew wasted no time getting going, putting up a three-spot in the first end and scoring four more in the second for the quick 7-0 lead. Single points the next two ends made it 9-0, and after Pederson got one back in the fifth, Dash scored two more and the teams shook hands.
Needless to say, it was a bit of a strange situation for the two teams after they had practiced and improved together for so many months leading up to Canadians.
“It was different playing against them in a game that means more than practicing against them,” Dash said. “We needed to beat them, though, it’s a long week and we needed the win… it’s tough, every nationals and worlds, the top teams can be easy to pick off even if they’re at the top.”
Pederson had seen Sask 1 in action countless times in the past, and even he had to marvel at what they looked like in a real game.
“You have to be able to get your guards and go around, especially against Marie and Gil and those guys, they’re just awesome,” Pederson said. “They don’t miss, they’re like a couple robots, those two, and when you get behind the eight-ball in every end against those guys, you’re in trouble and that’s just how it is.”
The good thing is there are nine more round robin games to go over the next week, and Sask 2 will look to get back on track when they face B.C.’s Gerry Austgarden (1-0) during the 1:30 p.m. draw Monday.
“We got the bad one out of our system hopefully,” Pederson said. “There are other teams out there who are getting beat, too, so this was just a crappy game, but we’ll keep plugging away and see what happens.”
For Dash, it’ll be a matter of keeping their momentum going against Ontario 2’s Chris Rees (0-1) at 7 p.m. Monday.
Other scores from the lone draw Sunday saw Alberta 1’s Martin Pervis take an 11-6 win over New Brunswick’s Michael Fitzgerald, while Quebec’s Carl Marquis had a five-ender and points in five straight ends for a 15-2 win over Alberta 2’s Donald Kuchelyma. B.C.’s Austgarden took a 7-3 win over Ontario’s Rees and Newfoundland’s Doug Dean had a six-ender on his way to a 12-4 win over Ontario’s Doug Morris.
Action continues at the Moose Jaw Curling Centre all week and be sure to keep an eye on all the scores and standings at www.curling.ca.
