Laurier men advance to medal round at 2016 CIS-Curling Canada Championships

KELOWNA, B.C. (March 22, 2016) – Round robin play at the 2016 CIS-Curling Canada Championships came to a close on Tuesday at the Kelowna Curling Club with the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks men's curling team securing second place while the women missed out on the playoffs.

After clinching their spot in the playoffs on Monday, the Laurier men had their sights set on first place overall in round robin play as they took on the Alberta Golden Bears in the morning draw. Both teams entered the matchup undefeated with 5-0 records, meaning the winner would automatically secure first place in the standings.

Alberta, who had hammer in the opening end, would jump out to a 2-0 lead and never look back as the Hawks and skip Aaron Squires of St. Thomas, Ont., couldn't generate much offence with the hammer. Another score of two in the fifth end by the Golden Bears was all they would need as they picked up a 6-4 victory, handing Laurier their first loss of the event.

The Hawks closed out the round robin with a rematch of the OUA gold medal game against their cross-town rivals, the Waterloo Warriors.

Laurier responded with a strong effort as they stole a single point in each of the first three ends before blowing the game open with a four-spot in the sixth end en route to a 9-4 victory.

Meanwhile, the Laurier women were fighting for their playoff lives in their first draw of the day as they faced the Alberta Pandas.

Needing a win to maintain their chances of playing for a medal, the Hawks and skip Chelsea Brandwood of Beamsville, Ont., fell behind early when the Pandas scored three in the opening end. A score of two in the third end by Laurier got them back into the game but Alberta proved to be too much on this day as the Hawks couldn't score more than two in any end the rest of the way, falling 9-4.

With the loss, the purple and gold were officially eliminated from playoff contention with four losses to their name.

Laurier would close out their appearance at the 2016 national championship with a matchup against their OUA rivals, the Brock Badgers. In a back-and-forth affair, Brock would squeak out a 9-7 win as the Hawks finished the championship with a 2-5 record.

The Laurier men will now prepare for their semifinal matchup where they will take on the Victoria Vikes on Wednesday at 12 p.m. EDT. When these two teams met in round robin play, the Hawks earned a 7-2 victory.

The winner of the game will advance to the gold medal match at 5:30 p.m. EDT while the loser will play for the bronze medal.

Fans wishing to follow along with all the playoff action can do so at CurlingGeek.com.