MCURL | Voyageurs Split Pair of Games on Day 3

With the 2023 U SPORTS Championships in full swing, day 3 of the tournament saw the Laurentian Voyageurs men's curling team face off against the UNB Reds and Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks.

The 12:30 match saw the Voyageurs take on the UNB Reds. The first part of the game saw a sense of status quo being implemented as, through the first four ends, each team that had the hammer was able to take advantage of it. However, Laurentian's two-point second end put them up 3-2 after four ends. It was not until the fifth end that things began to shake up a bit as almost out of nowhere the Voyageurs picked up a 2-point steal to give themselves some breathing room, up 5-2 going into the fifth end break.

From there it seemed the Voyageurs game plan was to keep UNB at bay. With the three-point advantage, they were in a good spot to not overthink any shots and focus on playing solid, smart curling. The Reds were not going to go down without a fight as they made things interesting, cutting the lead to 6-5 after 8 ends. Laurentian, however, never seemed panicked as they used the hammer in the ninth to retake a two point lead going into the tenth and final end. At the back end of the tenth, UNB had a chance to be setup for two points but their seventh rock strayed its way out of the 12 foot, which marked the Laurentian victory 7-5.

Their second match of the day saw the Voyageurs come up against a very formidable Laurier team who showed their quality right off the hop with 2 points in each the first and third ends to jump out to a quick 4-2 lead. From there Laurentian battled hard but it seemed every time they picked up a point Laurier came back with two of their own and within no time the score read 8-4 Laurier after 8 ends.

In a last ditch effort to salvage something, Laurentian attempted to snatch a boatload of points in the ninth end, however it wasn't meant to be as the lone point in the ninth cut the lead to just 8-5. The game was conceded after the ninth end with the Golden Hawks coming out on top 8-5.

Laurentian goes to 3-2 on the tournament and the final day of round robin play on Saturday sees them take on the Dalhousie Tigers and Calgary Dinos, looking to get into a playoff spot for the chance at the championship on Sunday.

Andrew Lemieux