Sports

 

The stick bonspiel organized by Glen Cougler at the Morrisburg Curling Club last week went over well, with two teams from Morrisburg, two from Winchester and Russell, as well as ones from Maxville, Kemptville and Prescott taking part. 

In the first draw, one Winchester rink won out, while the second finished third. Our Morrisburg foursome, Pete Zeran, Andy Patenaude, Greta Mc Gann and Bob Bechard defeated one Winchester team in their first match, and last year’s champions from Kemptville in their second. They were both tight games, and our local heroes finished in second place.

In the second draw, Sid Morrell, Neil Williams, Don O’Brien and Alice Thompson finished in first place, defeating Lancaster in the morning and a strong Russell foursome in the afternoon to finish first overall on the day. Lunch was delicious and ample.

Last week, in Cornwall for their 24-team bonspiel, Jack Barkley, Raymond Benoit, Neil Williams and George Rutley finished first in the competition, defeating a Montreal foursome for their repeat win. Our second team, Pete Zeran, Karl Duncan, Earl Jeacle and Paul Gunther were neck-in-neck with the other winners, defeating Laval, but lost out on draws to the button. 

Two days later, three of our teams of senior men returned to Cornwall for a friendly bonspiel. Jack Barkley, Ron Beaupre, Earl Jeacle and Paul Gunther tied their match. Wally McDonald, Ray Benoit, Doug Jarvis and Fred Langlotz lost their game, while George Rutley, Dave King, Sam Locke and Keith Robinson won theirs. As always, it was a very pleasant social event.

Morrisburg hosted the Gamble, the annual four-club mixed bonspiel on Saturday. 

John Allison,  Carolyn Beckstead, and Jim and Wendy Casselman  were tied coming home in their first game against Russell but lost the exciting match on the last rock. They were defeated in their second game by a Winchester team, and failed to advance to the final. 

Our other curlers, John Toonders, Susan McIntosh, Sam Locke and Ruth Kelly lost their first match to a powerful Russell team, but won their afternoon game handily against John Allison’s Winchester opponents to advance to the ‘B’ final.

After a delicious dinner, catered by Bill Laurin, with pork as a main course, and a short business meeting, the two Russell teams did battle in the ‘A’ final, with Trottier winning out. Our Toonders foursome defeated Lapierre from Winchester in a thrilling match which went to an extra end, to claim the champions’ pins and get their names etched on the winners’ shield. 

Our thanks to the organizers, to our ice man, to the chef, and to the many volunteers without which these events could not function.

On Sunday, the first annual Two-Person Bonspiel was organized again by Susan McIntosh. Thanks to Dave McIntosh for the fine chilli luncheon, to Wally Baker for setting the ice up for us, and to the many volunteers who kept the ice prepared through the day, and handled the other aspects of the bonspiel. 

As always, there were champions declared in three divisions, and the profit for the day was dedicated to paying for a second new measuring stick.

In the ‘C’ Division, Sam Locke and Darryl McDonnell defeated Josh Laurin and Judy Morin. The ‘B’ division saw Paul St. Pierre and Ron Beaupre victorious over Claire and Paula Locke, and in the ‘A’ division, the top prize for the day went to Ian and Kathy Wilson, who won out over Peter Zeran and Bud Perry. 

It was another great day, with people from every league in the club participating. 

That’s it for this week,

Good curling to all!    

[…]

 

The Morrisburg Junior B Lions righted a couple of wrongs here Sunday afternoon when they downed the visiting St. Lawrence Division’s first place Casselman Vikings, 3-1.

Those wrongs were a 10-2 loss to the Vikings in their barn on Thursday, November 1 and 5-3 loss on Morrisburg ice on Sunday, November 4.

While they didn’t play well in Casselman, the Lions felt they played better than the 10-2 score indicated and back home in Morrisburg, despite the 5-3 loss, they felt they had played well enough to win it.

So this time out there was no question that the Lions do have the stuff needed to win against the Vikings and any other team in their division.

“On Sunday, it was our best team defensive game of the season,” said Lions team manager Kevin Casselman early this week. “It was the result of what Dan (coach Frawley) and Andrew (assistant coach Scott) have been preaching for some time.”

“Mikael (Dion) was solid in net and our five defencemen  played very well collectively. The forward units were coming back to help and picked up their defensive responsibilities.”

“It was a great game, because we felt we had played well enough to have won against Casselman the previous Sunday.”

“With the parity in the league, each week brings hope and optimism that a four point weekend can lift a team back into the battle for a playoff position. It is really that close.”

And close indeed. With the stats in after this past weekend, the Casselman Vikings are in the St. Lawrence division’s top spot with a slim two point lead over the Char-Lan Rebels. The Akwesasne Wolves have climbed into third place with 17 points, Alexandria is fourth with 15, the Hawks fifth with 14 and the Lions still at the back of the pack with 10, but climbing. 

 While a four-point weekend is a must do for the Lions to catch up to the pack, it didn’t happen this past weekend as they got it rolling Friday night in Alexandria with a 4-1 loss.

Again it was a slow start for the Lions who found themselves down 3-0 in the first period.

Michel Lefebvre counted the lone Lions goal, a power play marker, at 6:52 of the second period  assisted by Chris Rutley.

Dion was in the Lions net for the loss. The Lions were out shot 37-24 by the Glens in the game that saw eight minors and one misconduct assessed to the Lions and six minors to the Glens along with one double minor and a misconduct.

Sunday, the Lions were waiting in their home den for the Vikings to come to town for a game that remained even through two periods.

The Vikings got their only goal against Dion just 3:40 into the first period while on their power play.

Just over four minutes later, Chris Rutley answered on the Lions power play with help from Grant Cooper and the 1-1 tie lasted until 1:10 of the third period.

It was at 1:10 that Lefebvre and Rutley went to work to assist Sylvester Bzdyl on what would be the winning Lions goal.

With Dion unbeatable and the defense buckling down, the Lions protected their one goal lead until 15:37 of the third when Grant Cooper, with help from Brandon Chaffe and Matt Marcil, beat Vikings goaltender Phillippe Quesnel for the Lions third and final goal.

Dion was outstanding in the Lions net facing 43 Vikings’ shots, while the Lions managed just 26 shots against Quesnel.

The Lions sat out nine minor penalties, one double minor and a 10 minute misconduct while the Vikings handled five minors, a five minute fighting major and a game misconduct.

This weekend, the Lions are scheduled to host the Char-Lan Rebels, Friday night, November 16 at 8 p.m. Sunday, they are on the road to take on the Akwesasne Wolves in a 3 p.m. match.

[…]

 

The South Dundas “Evonik” Atom B Rep Lions continued their unbeaten streak last Tuesday (November 6) with a 3-1 win against the NGS Braves, but it abruptly ended Saturday night (November 10) in a 13-1 loss to the Alexandria Glens.

The Lions were looking to move into a tie for first place (and avenge their opening night 5-1 loss to the Braves) Tuesday night, when they defeated the Braves in Finch 3-1. Holding a 3-0 lead going into the third period, the Lions defended a late push from the Braves, while Lions defenceman Emytt Fetterly was in the penalty box on a tripping penalty. 

With the Braves power play unit on the ice, they got the puck into the Lions end and forced Lions goaltender Brendan Shaver to make a save as he covered it. 

The Braves won the ensuing face-off as Lions centreman Brody Fairbairn battled with Braves forward Makenna Brownlee. The puck found its way to the front of the net and a scramble followed resulting in Seamus Hardy shooting home the puck for a power-play Braves goal. 

The Braves continued to press and the Lions defended with Shaver in the net making some big saves, and Lions defenceman Nathan Verhey making some big plays on the Braves forwards. The Braves finished the game on their power play with Lions Jack Connors serving a roughing penalty. But the Lions defence held, and the game ended in the Lions favour 3-1.

The Lions built their lead on two first period goals, one only a minute twenty into the period when a two on one ended up being converted. 

Jack Connors and Duncan Hutt broke out of their end as Connors carried the puck down the left wing and make a great pass across the slot to Hutt who drove to the net and one timed the puck looking to hit the bottom right corner. However, the puck went wide into the right wing side. 

Hutt and Connors scrambled the play and fed a pass to Jaeden Phifer-Shaver standing at the top of the circle. Phifer-Shaver’s backhand shot made it past Braves goaltender Tyson Zollinger giving the Lions a 1-0 lead.

Late in the first period, the Lions struck again as Ben Lapier picked up a pass in the neutral zone, skated down the right wing and buried a shot past Zollinger for the 2-0 lead. Phifer-Shaver and Nolan Henry picked up the assists. 

In the second, the Lions got the so important three goal lead when Dana Domanko made a defensive zone pass up the right wing boards to Ben Lapier who would beat the Braves defender, while Jack Connors drove up the centre off the ice. 

Lapier beat the last Braves defender and made a beautiful stick to stick pass to Connors who wristed a shot over Zollinger’s glove into the top corner to score a highlight reel goal.

The Lions hosted the Alexandria Glens on Saturday for a battle for first as they both came into the game tied at top spot in the East Division with nine points. 

It turned out to be a game the Lions will need to quickly put behind them as the only highlight on the night in a 13-1 drubbing was when Jaeden Phifer-Shaver buried a backhand home for the Lions only goal of the game.

 The South Dundas “Evonik” Atom B Rep Lions are next in action on Sunday, November 18th in Smiths Falls to take on their West Division rivals the Smiths Falls Bears.

[…]

 

After an extended break in their schedule, the South Dundas Peewee B1 House Lions were back on the ice Friday night hosting to defeat the North Leeds Stars, 5-2. 

The Lions are currently sitting in third place on the East Division with a 1-1-2 record.

The Lions had opened a 3-0 lead going into the third period and needed a strong period to finish off the Stars, but would the schedule break hurt their legs late in the game. 

The Stars began using the body a lot more later in the game and a great  check in the neutral on Lions defenceman Devon Dumoulin actually led to the Lions next goal. 

After the hit, the puck went into the Star end zone. As the Stars defenders watched the check, Kendrew Byers and Max Garlough skated in alone and Byers wristed a shot home to extend the Lions lead to 4-0.

The Lions continued to press and Jaxon Weegar had two chances, the first on a shot from the slot that went wide and the second when Brady Smith kept the puck alive at the blue line, sent a pass down to Weegar who passed across the crease to a wide open Kurtis Markell whose shot was stopped by Stars goaltender Kaleb McCulloch.

The Lions jumped on the power play on a Stars tripping penalty and opened with some excellent passing which led to a few shots.

However, the Stars were the ones to capitalize when a Stars forward got the puck just right of the slot, and then backhanded a shot just inside the top corner to get the Stars on the board. 

The Stars did not let up and  40 seconds later a defenceman went end to end and buried a shot low in the net to make the score 4-2. 

Off the face off, the puck came into the Lions end and the Stars got another scoring chance before Jonah Bennis picked up the puck in his own end, went coast to coast and deked out the Stars goaltender to bury a backhand shot into the open net for a 5-2 Lions lead that they would close the game on.

The Lions starred the game a little on their heels and on one occasion Lions defenceman Sheridan Caines picked up the puck, passed it to Connor Dumoulin at the Stars blue line. Dumoulin drove the net and beat the goalie to open the scoring only a minute into the game

After a  few other scoring chances for Lions Lucas Bennis and Sam Gould (who was playing in his first game of the season as he just came off the injured list) it was Max Garlough who would be johnny-on-the-spot when Devon Dumoulin went end to end on a rush. Dumoulin had the puck knocked away right and it ended up in Garlough’s possession. One stride and a shot low to the glove side gave the Lions a 2-0 lead.

In the second, the Lions extended the lead to 3-0 when Devon Dumoulin went end to end and shot over the goalie’s trapper. 

Noah Keeler and Aden Casselman teamed up to help defend Lions goaltender Wesley Alexander as he was forced to make several big saves in the second period. 

The South Dundas Peewee B1 House Lions are next in action on home ice Saturday, November 17th at 2:30 p.m. when they host the

NGS Braves.

[…]

 

Last week the Morrisburg Curling Club had three ladies’ teams in a Cornwall   bonspiel. 

Our first, composed of Ruth Kelly, Anita Cooper, Cheryl Thompson and Kathy Hardy, played in the early draw. Their opponents were Alexandria in the morning and Brockville in the afternoon. The ice took some getting used to, but they played well, unfortunately coming up short in both matches, against the curlers who finished first and second overall in the bonspiel.

Our other quartet in the early draw included Alice Thompson, Susan McIntosh, Betty Locke and Sharon Van Allen. They dropped their first match to Vankleek Hill, but won handily against Maxville. While they didn’t finish in the top two for the day, Betty and Sharon won prizes.

Greta McGann, Joanne Baker and Paula and Claire Locke were in the late draw. Their morning game was against Brownsburg. It was a good match, but the other team pulled out the win. In the afternoon, their opponents were from Brockville, and they fell to our local curlers.

Richmond hosted a bonspiel two days later. Alice Thompson, Susan McIntosh, Betty Locke and Sharon Van Allen lost their morning match to Pembroke, and they beat a Navy team in the afternoon. By the way, Barb Truscotte of Carleton Place scored a rare eight-ender at the bonspiel (not against our ladies!)

Three teams of senior men invaded the Prescott club last week and took three strong wins against their hosts. Our local heroes were Wally McDonald, Neil Williams, Bud Perry and Bob Youmelle, Martin Schneckenburger, Ron Beaupre, Doug Jarvis and Al Gowanlock, and Jack Barkley, Ted Herriman, Earl Jeacle and Eric Johnson. As always, apologies to any spares not mentioned, as some invariably fill in for busy local seniors. Well done, fellows!

On November 17, Morrisburg will be hosting the Gamble Cup mixed competition, with two teams from each of Russell, Metcalfe and Winchester doing battle with our local champions. 

Two teams are already interested in competing on our behalf, but if others would like to be considered, please sign up on the sheet on the bulletin board at the bottom of the stairs. Mahlon Locke will work out playoff times if needed. He is also looking for volunteers for that day, and the sign-up sheet is located at the bar.

Susan McIntosh will be running her popular two-person bonspiel Sunday. We hope to see full draws for that one. The early draw begins at 9 a.m., and the late draw starts at 10. 

Susan says her husband Dave is making his famous chilli, and we’re sure there will be other food items to complement that delicacy. The entry fee is $15, and there are cash prizes for the winners in each of the three divisions in each draw. Sign up before the spaces are all filled! Good curling!

Curling Notes:

•Denis Thibault was a member of the championship team, the Morrell foursome, in our first bonspiel of the year. Sorry for the error, Denis. Keep up the good work! 

•We have the stick bonspiel at the club this week, and the same day, three daytime men’s teams will be in Cornwall for another friendly bonspiel. 

We’ll report next week. 

•On Nov. 27 and 28, Jack Barkley, Sue McIntosh, Andy Patenaude and Betty Locke will be in Maxville, competing in the Ontario Senior games, and two Scottish men’s teams are coming to our club on Tuesday, January 15.

•The competitive women’s invitational bonspiel in Kemptville last weekend featured top teams, and Rachel Homan from the Ottawa Curling Club won top honours. We can likely expect to see her as Ontario’s representative again in the Tournament of Hearts.

•Some of our ladies expect to announce their entry into the Crystal Heart Bonspiel in several Ottawa rinks, February 7-10. We have had several teams entered in this classic in the past, the largest for women in the province. Sixty-four rinks are allowed in the open division, and 32 in the seniors’ competition. We wish new and repeat entries all the best as they plan for this huge event.    

[…]

 

The South Dundas Lions Peewee B2 House team continued their winning ways on Saturday afternoon as they downed the visiting Smith Falls Bears 5-0. 

The Lions, Bears and the South Grenville Rangers were all tied for first place at seven points in the west division and with the win, the Lions move two points ahead at the season’s quarter way mark.

The Lions opened Sunday’s game with unsuccessful scoring opportunities from Austin Robinson and linemates Brody Smail and William Dejong who kept the puck alive in the Bears end for three Robinson wrist shots against Bears goalie Austin Evans. 

The Bears pushed back and got a chance on Lions goalie Sam Waytowich who shut the door on a Luke Callaghan shot. 

Lions forward Colin Minish responded with a drive to the Bears net, but was tripped to put the Lions on the power play. 

After a Bears clearing, Adam Lapier picked up the puck in his own end and skated through the Bears defenders before having his shot turned aside. The puck stayed deep in the Bears end and the Lions were pressing when Kolby Hamilton picked up the puck and avoided some checks before getting the puck behind the Bears goal-line. 

The Bears would unable to clear, and the Lions opened the scoring on their power play when Colin Minish jammed home the puck on a wrap around. 

Seconds later off the face-off, Minish broke into the Bears end and fed a pass to Grant Wells who wristed a shot home for a 2-0 lead.

The Lions continued to attack and forward Brooke Lapier got a chance, but shot wide, after Dean Lapier passed her the puck from his defensive position.

The Bears picked up the pace in the last few minutes of the period as forward Luke Callaghan tipped the puck past Oakley Beavers to break in on Waytowich. But the Lions goalie would not be beat as he stuck out his right  pad to make a big save. 

In the dying seconds of the first period, the Lions struck again when Smail and Robinson teamed up to get the puck into the Bears end. The pass went to William Dejong whose shot was deflected off the Evans glove into the net for a commanding 3-0 Lions lead.

In the second period the line of Brooke Lapier, Julenea Barnhartd and Trinity Hanes picked up the Lions scoring chances as they pressed the Bears net and continued to drive shots towards the goal. 

The Lions found themselves killing a penalty when Oakley Beavers threw a check at the Bears blue-line and was penalized four minutes for checking to the head. 

The Lions killed the first two minutes on some excellent defensive play by Shayna VanBeilen and Bryce Bradford. 

Later on a dump a Bears forward, who snowed Lions goalie Waytowich, was called for unsportsmanlike conduct which negated the Bears power play. 

South Dundas carried the play through the four on four before an offensive face-off led to the Bears best scoring chance of the day. On the face-off, the Bears centreman timed the puck drop perfectly and wristed a shot that was going into the top corner of the Lions net. But Waytowich got his glove on it to make the save and maintain the Lions 3-0 advantage.

With first place on the line and a shutout within his graps, Waytowich was strong through the third period. 

Dejong netted his second goal off a scrambled play where defenceman Oakley Beavers flipped the puck high into the air towards the net where Smail picked it up and fed Dejong for the open shot home. 

On the next shift Minish picked up a puck at his own blue line, skated through two defenders into the Bears end and fed Wells who would wrist home his second of the game and Minish’s third point on the day.

The Peewee B2 House Lions are next in action on Monday night in Brockville and at home next Saturday against North Dundas.

[…]

 

The South Dundas “Evonik” Atom B Rep Lions continued their unbeaten streak on home ice Saturday night as the South Stormont Selects were in town to battle the Lions to a 1-1 tie. 

The teams, who have been very evenly matched so far this season, played a very good defensive game for the tie. 

The Lions opened the game with some offensive pressure by Ban Lapier and Brody Fairbairn whose passing play set up scoring chance on Fairbairn’s shot. 

Owen Fetterly opened his first shift with an excellent back check as defencemen Emytt Fetterly, Dana Domnako, Nathen Verhey and Kieran Geurkink were joined on the back end by Jayden Rowe who all played well defensively. 

The Lions were given a power-play opportunity late in the first when Jaeden  Phifer-Shaver was body checked to the ice while clearing the puck from the Lions zone. 

The Lions counted their loan goal on the power play when Nolan Henry battled in the left corner to gain possession of the puck. Henry quickly passed to Ben Lapier who shot into the bottom right corner of the net. 

In second period Lions goaltender Brendan Shaver came up big with a couple of saves as the Selects pushed for the equalizer. 

The Lions had an excellent chance to go ahead by two when Nolan Henry fed a pass to  Joshua Broad and his backhand shot rang off the crossbar. 

Each team took a penalty on the next shift and were playing four on four when the Selects got the tying goal from Jacob Willison.

The Lions had a couple more power plays in the period but came up empty.

The third period brought more scoring chances as Jack Connors and Duncan Hutt had chances, but Connors shot went wide and Hutt but hit the side of the net when he attempted a sharp angle shot into the open side. 

The defence continued to cut off Select attackers and force only shots from the outside as Nathen Verhey used his size to keep the puck and attacker outside the scoring zone. 

The game ended tied 1-1 and the Lions remain two points out of first place in the East Division. 

The South Dundas “Evonik” Atom B Rep Lions are in action Tuesday night in Finch against NGS and are on home ice next Saturday, November 10th, at 7p.m. against the Alexandria Glens. 

[…]

 

It’s been several weeks in the making, but the Morrisburg Junior B Lions finally put their fourth stroke in the win column Friday night on home ice against the Brockville Tikis.

The Lions opened their three game week on the road to Casselman, Thursday night, November 1 where they were dealt a crushing 10-2 loss by the St. Lawrence Division second place Vikings.

But Friday night, they got back on the right track to post a 6-3 win against the Tikis.

Then on Sunday, they were handed another loss by the Vikings, but this time they were in the game all the way and gave the Vikings a run for their money in the 5-3 loss (the fifth Viking goal scored in the empty Lions net).

“With the elimination of lapses and some mistakes, Sunday’s game was played very well,” says Lions team manager Kevin Casselman. “With a couple of breaks the outcome could have been much different. It was a well played hockey game. While it was not a win, we felt that we played well enough to have won.”

Sunday’s game started with a 1-1 first period tie. After two periods it was tied 2-2.

Then in the third, the Vikings went up 4-2, but the Lions battled back with a power-play goal at 13:40 from Peter Ketcheson to cut the gap to 4-3.

Despite their hard work, the Lions were unable to put anything more past Vikings goaltender Phillippe Quesnel. The Vikings scored in the empty Lions net after coach Dan Frawley pulled Lions goaltender Mikael Dion in favour of the extra attacker.

Adam Wensink opened the Vikings scoring at 5:22 of the first period on the Vikings power play. 

At 8:13 Michel Lefebvre answered back on the Lions power play with help from Chris Rutley and Sylvester Bzdyl.

Joel Adam gave the Vikings a 2-1 lead at 5:39 of the second period and although it took the Lions a while to answer, Brandon Chaffe did that at 19:19 of the frame with the assists going to Grant Cooper and Curtis Pilon.

A pair of third period goals from Kyle Beauchamp-Lalonde at 9:43 and 11:57 gave the Vikings a two-goal edge.

Ketcheson counted the final Lions goal with help from Bzdyl and Rutley.

Friday night, the Lions came out of the starting gate fast and went up 1-0 against the Tikis with a Peter Ketcheson goal (from Zach Seguin and Ty Hodgson) at 5:24 of the frame.

The Tikis evened it three minutes later, and that held until the final minute of the period when the Lefebvre connected from Rutley and Bzdyl.

We had a team meeting before the game,” said Casselman. “We discussed the fact that we needed to be prepared to start the game and not fall behind. In fact, we came out from the start and played a solid game.”

“Secondly, it was important for us to receive secondary scoring. Affiliate player Peter Ketcheson scored the first goal and Brandon Chaffe had two goals in the game. This took some of the pressure off the line of Bzdyl, Lefebvre and Rutley.”

“As well Brandon (Chaffe) has played well and it was nice to see him rewarded for his hard work. It was nice to see some secondary scoring from other units. That takes away from the opposition’s game plan in shutting down one line.”

The Tikis evened the game five minutes into the second period, but then the Lions took over.

Chaffe got his two goals, the first assisted by Rutley and Bzdyl and the second with help from Grant Cooper and Ty Hodgson.

Then with just a little over a minute left in the period, Michel Lefebvre (from Rutley and Bzdyl) counted on the Lions power play to stretch the advantage to 5-2.

The Tikis got one more against Lions goaltender Ryan Cooper at 5:24 of the third period, and Clarke Veenstra finished it off with an unassisted goal for the Lions at 13:08.

“Clarke is a big time player on our team,” said Casselman. “He has been ill and the virus took its toll, but it was nice to get him back into the lineup. He makes a huge difference.”

Thursday night in Casselman, the Lions managed only two goals against the Vikings from Chris Rutley and Grant Cooper in the second period. The Vikings led 4-0 after the first period and 5-2 after two. Another five unanswered third period counters against Ryan Cooper in the Lions net gave them the 10-2 win.

“It’s a tough rink to play in for sure,” said Casselman. “But we felt the game was not indicative of the score. We didn’t play a good first period and before we knew it, we were down four goals. Some were just plain bad luck, but some were the case of our play.”

“But in the second period we came out and dominated the play for large stretches. As a result we scored a couple of goals.”

Cooper had a busy night in the net giving up the 10 goals on 55 Vikings shots. The Lions, on the other hand, managed only 23 shots against Vikings goaltender Alexandre Michaud.

Coming up this weekend, the Lions are in Alexandria on Friday night, November 9 and on Sunday, November 11 they again host the Casselman Vikings. Game time is 2:30 p.m.

[…]

 

Three teams of Morrisburg Curling Club day-time men were in Winchester last week for a friendly bonspiel where they reported the ice was fast and very slippery.

Jack Barkley, Ted Herriman, Earl Jeacle and Eric Johnson, as well as Pete Zeran, Karl Duncan, Gerry Thompson and Robert Martin won their games. The Winchester hosts eked out a victory against our third team, made up of Keith Brannen, Ray Benoit, Paul Gunther and Paul Dobry. 

A couple of their curlers fell, along with one of our men. Fortunately, all survived, and after a delicious lunch and a few stories, our fellows rolled south to our home club, looking forward to Winchester’s return visit.

Last week also, Alice Thompson, Susan McIntosh, Betty Locke and Sharon Van Allen left town for a day. They were in Ottawa, at the Riverview Ladies Club at the R. A. Centre, and reported that the ice was very fast and quite swingy. 

Their morning opponent was a Navy foursome. After figuring the ice out, and tied coming home, our ladies were counting four when Navy pulled a rock in to out-count them and take the match. After a fine meal in the restaurant, our team defeated Prescott in the afternoon and returned with very nice prizes. 

Like the McGann rink last week, our ladies were surprised with black-clad witches and other seasonal outfits. Our morning competitors this time, the Navy team, were dressed as bats, and won top prize for their costumes. These women sure love theme bonspiels! 

Mahlon Locke reports that a woman, from Cornwall, I believe, is going to try to organize a bonspiel here, perhaps in January, in support of Alzheimers patients. If she’s successful, we’ll get the information to you.

There is considerable information in the clubhouse regarding out-of-town bonspiels at various levels, for men and women, of interest to curlers in several divisions. Why not look them over, and try some of them? It’s a very pleasant way to spend a day, see other clubs, and a chance to make new friends. 

Arguably the best of the competitions is the Dominion Tankard, the O.C.A. Men’s Curling Championship, being held in Barrie from February 4-10. There’s information at the bar, and whether you’re interested in competing or observing, it’s always some of the best curling in Canada.

Glenn Cougler still has an opening for a local team in the invitational stick bonspiel. Check with him if interested.

More of our curlers are off to bonspiels this week, and we’ll report on those results next time.

We remind you that visitors are welcome at our club, and that it is open for rentals for special events such as staff parties and other activities, as well as bonspiels. It’s always wise to book early, as the club gets busier on weekends as the season goes on. Mahlon Locke, our president, can provide the details.

And finally, a note of thanks to our many sponsors whose signs are displayed at the rink, and who help our club financially. We know members and visitors will cultivate these fine corporate citizens’ businesses. 

Good curling, folks!

[…]

 

We’re into the third week of curling at the Morrisburg Curling Club and things are rounding into shape. 

The Swing and Sweep event had to be cancelled this year, as a result of low numbers interested. Instead, the executive organized an opening bonspiel for last Saturday. 

Other events scheduled are Glenn Cougler’s stick bonspiel, the women’s Invitational on Tuesday, December 4, the Gamble bonspiel on Saturday November 17, and the OCA Zone 1 Intermediates from December 22-23. 

In addition, a lady from Cornwall is trying to organize an Alzheimer’s bonspiel for Saturday, November 10. Club president, Mahlon Locke tells us there’ll be an information sheet in the lounge. Why not put together a team to support this charity? More information on all events is available at the Club or from the organizers.

Over the summer a good deal of work was done by the executive and other volunteers. The new carpet is in, painting (especially interesting is the red door) and upgrading inside has taken place, -washrooms, bar, etc., and feet-cleaning mats are down at entrances to the ice surface. 

The ice is fast, and Wally Baker has some other innovations that have much improved the surface and our curling experience. On November 10 our rocks’ running bands will be reconditioned, to bring back the wonderful curling ability they used to have, well back in the last century. 

Our membership numbers are down slightly from last year, but there are a number of new curlers, and it is still possible to register for the league of your choice. Those interested can also curl as a spare, or pay for single games if there is an opening on a team. 

Dave King is looking after the day men for anyone who would like to join that league. Tuesday night men’s coordinator Joe McCooeye is the person to see about signing up there, Alice Thompson for the Tuesday afternoon ladies, Susan McIntosh and Claire Locke for Wednesday night ladies, Ruth Kelly for daytime mixed, Ian Wilson for the Thursday night competitive league, and Mahlon Locke for the Friday night mixed league. 

Also, the little rockers are being looked after by Ian and Kathy Wilson. Hope to see some more people out!

Mahlon and Paula Locke and their committee organized the opening bonspiel, and arranged a delicious lunch for the curlers in the event. In the early draw, there was some mid-season level curling, with Sid Morrell’s foursome emerging victorious. His team included Ron Beaupre, Ted Herriman and Paul Gunther. 

In the second draw Mahlon Locke, Wendy Casselman, Dave McIntosh and Claire Locke were victorious. When the total points for the teams were considered, Sid’s foursome finished first, with Mahlon’s warriors ending up second overall. It was a good day, with profits from the event turned over to the club. 

A women’s team competed at Kemptville last Saturday. Gretta McGann, Cheryl Thompson, and Paula and Claire Locke played a single eight-end match in the morning, and defeated a foursome from Brockville. When the winners’ scores were tallied, Morrisburg was in second place, while Smiths Falls took the overall total.

Local teams are entered in several bonspiels around eastern Ontario, and we’ll report on those when they occur.  There will be friendly competitions with other club teams from various leagues, and we’ll do our best to keep you informed about those. Do keep us posted on your events, so that we can report to your fans.

Good curling, folks! 

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