Banner Season: Queen’s, Carleton enter as reigning champs among highly competitive field of contenders
Guelph, Ont. – The provincial curling contingent has seen many champions get crowned at the OUA finale over the last several seasons, leaving the door open for any number of contenders to claim the top prize this time around. The 16-team field remains loaded with talent, with some players returning to their rinks after time off, some looking to build off past banner season experience, and some focused on turning their pre-university pedigree into powerful debuts. While the champions-to-be remain a mystery, one certainty heading into the 2020 OUA Curling Championships is that it will take five days of clutch, capable curling to capture gold at the Guelph Curling Club.
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Among those who will be contending for top spot will be the two defending champions – the Carleton Ravens men’s team and the women’s rink from the Queen’s Gaels. At the forefront for the reigning champion Ravens will be Cameron Goodkey, who found unparalleled success in his first season with the team. Despite being a late entry into curling, the Ottawa, Ont. native won both the OUA and U SPORTS gold medal in his first foray into the university game.
Much like Goodkey, Mary Fay was able to bring a championship home for the Tricolour, skipping the banner-winning bunch in just her sophomore season. Fay’s final stone in the gold medal match sealed the deal on the Gaels’ first women’s curling title since 1994, but with the taste of victory now much more recent for Queen’s, the hopes of making it back-to-back banners is front and centre for the Kingston team.
Certainly, these won’t be the only attendees who have earned a curling banner for their schools in recent years, as the competition will be plentiful across the board.
After winning their first women’s title three years ago, the Laurentian Voyageurs will look to get back to that champion status with a largely returning group. After losing just one player from last year’s silver-medal winning team, they will have an experienced roster representing them in Guelph; one that includes Kira Brunton. The Sudbury, Ont. native is back as the skip and brings that aforementioned OUA silver medal, as well as a U SPORTS championship with her. On the flip side, the men’s rink will have only one returnee for their banner season endeavors, with Max Blais (Smooth Rock Falls, Ont.) hoping to avenge their quarterfinal loss a year ago as well.
Another school that will turn to an experienced women’s group will be the Waterloo Warriors, who with Katie Ford (Niagara Falls, Ont.) and Margot Flemming (Waterloo, Ont.) at the forefront, hope to advance further than last year’s quarterfinal appearance. The former was a second team OUA all-star after last year’s festivities and is ready to skip the squad to a spot in the championship after their tough extra ends exit a year ago. The latter will also be a key piece to the Warriors’ puzzle, entering the OUA finale as a two-time Scotties provincial finalist.
For Waterloo’s men’s side, Aidan Bowers (Uxbridge, Ont.) is excited to step into the skip role in his first season with the black and gold, headlining a young group beaming with potential. “We’re a young team, but have focused on getting better every time on the ice,” said vice Ben Jackson. “I think we’re going to surprise a lot of teams with how much we’ve improved as the year has gone on.”
Also epitomizing the variance in rosters is Wilfrid Laurier, and after seeing both squads eliminated in pool play a year ago, the veteran men’s side and unproven women’s rink will look to get the Golden Hawks back on top. Said head coach Matt Wilkinson, “Here at Laurier, expectations are always high on the curling program. First off, it’s just qualifying for playoffs and working out way from there.”
For the men, these concrete steps will be greatly helped by return of Matt Hall (Kitchener, Ont.), as he skipped the Hawks to their last OUA championship in 2017. The fourth-year athlete, who had a year off from the program, enters the latest championship quest with a Canadian and World Junior gold and is coming off an impressive club campaign in which he reached the tiebreaker for the Ontario Men’s Championship in January. Hall will be joined by the former Waterloo skip John Willsey (Orillia, Ont.) and past OUA champion Jordie Lyon-Hatcher (Ottawa, Ont.) on what should be a very competitive crew.
The Hawks will also be soaring high with a potential-filled women’s team. Chief among this youthful bunch is first-year Isabelle Ladouceur, as the Bedford, N.S. native brings some pedigree into her debut banner season. The rookie won the Canadian U18 Championships in 2018, skipping Team Nova Scotia to the title, and led her team to the Nova Scotia Scotties provincial championship the same year – the youngest team to ever qualify. With a battle-tested skip like that leading the way, the Hawks have the chance to surprise some teams and get back to title contention in 2020.
Much like the Hawks, the Western Mustangs are no strangers to podium finishes, with the men’s side claiming bronze a year ago. Spencer Dunlop (Brampton, Ont.) will be tasked with leading the London squad to a similar result this time as they push for the team’s first banner since 2010, while Stephanie Schmitt (Komoka, Ont.) aims to anchor a women’s team in rebuilding mode. In her rookie season, Schmitt is part of a group filled with fresh faces – both on the ice and on the sidelines – but they have put in the work heading into this weekend, including a 2-1 record at the Laurier Invitational and a 2-2-1 mark at the Brock Invitational.
Schmitt and the ‘Stangs are excited to get their banner season underway on Thursday against the Brock Badgers, but it won’t be an easy task against the reigning bronze medalists, who will be bolstered by the return of Jessica Humphries. The native of Bobcaygeon, Ont. returns to the St. Catharines squad after taking a year off to curl in British Columbia with Team Sarah Daniels. She will be joined by a veteran front end that mas medaled the last two years at both the provincial and national level and is coming off some strong OCA curling and provincial playdowns.
Said Humphries, “I’m really excited to take on a new role as the skip of the team. My team has made this an easy transition and I’m really proud of how hard we have all worked this season. Having this support allows our team to be confident in our preparation as we head into OUA Championships and I’m so excited to be representing Brock there again.”
Alongside the Badgers’ women’s rink will be a young and hungry men’s contingent that sees several players making a step up in position. Nick Lemieux (Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.) takes over as skip and will headline a group that is hoping to turn past event success into a provincial medal. “Past experiences at the competition have allowed our team to know what to expect and to be prepared to bring our A-game,” said Lemieux, which is exactly what they’ll need to do for another medal-winning performance on the OUA stage.
When talking about finding the championship-winning recipe, one helpful ingredient is experience, and while not a mandatory precursor to success, it is something the Toronto Varsity Blues hope can spice up their championship aspirations. The women’s side didn’t lose a single member from a year ago, meaning they will once again be led by third-year standout Mackenzie Kiemele. The Niagara Falls, Ont. native is back at skip, hoping to duplicate the team’s undefeated pool play record a year ago, but secure a better result in the knockout rounds.
Their experience should serve them well, just like it will to have Justin Chung (Toronto, Ont.) join the men’s rink. The third-year skip, in addition to some positional changes from last year’s squad, hope to have found a winning formula for them to make their way up the standings this season.
Joining the Blues with a new skip this time around will be Ryerson, who have Ryan Fayaz (Thornhill, Ont.) taking over the position for the Rams after seeing Alex Champ graduate. He has previously skipped his competitive teams to CurlOn provincial appearances and last year, playing vice, was the runner-up to represent Ontario at nationals. The junior will be just the second person to hold the position for the Rams in their short history, with sights set on a podium position this year.
While the Rams’ men finished fourth last year, their women’s team failed to get out of the pool play with their young squad. They will carry that valuable experience into the 2020 banner season edition; however, and look to Nicole Titkai (Toronto, Ont.) to help navigate them to a spot in the knockout rounds. A former first-team All-Canadian, the fifth-year curler also has an OUA silver medal, as well as multiple appearances at the U21 Championships, Scotties, and more on her résumé.
Fellow fourth-place finishers, the Lakehead Thunderwolves, will set their sights on a step up this season, backed by Erin Tomalty’s championship pedigree. The Nestor Falls, Ont. native is a former OUA all-star (2017) and U21 first team all-star (2018) and will be one of two veterans on the team guiding a new-look group. Despite school placements and availability serving as obstacles this season, Tomalty remains optimistic about their chances this weekend, similar to their feelings at the Superbowl bonspiel, where they were one of the eight remaining teams standings (out of 64). “This will be a wonderful challenge for us and a great learning experience, especially for the teammates who will have four more years of eligibility. I feel very comfortable with Tiana [Gaudry] holding the broom.”
The excitement is also there for the men’s team, who will turn to a rookie skip this weekend. “I’m a little nervous to be skipping at my first provincial championship, but I’ve got very good support from all my teammates, especially Adam [Walker] who holds the broom for my shots,” said Evan Chisamore-Johnston (Newmarket, Ont.). Walker, along with Felix LaSalle (Timmons, Ont.), represent the team’s lone veterans, but the group as a whole has practiced and played hard heading into this final weekend.
Improvement has been the name of the game for the McMaster Marauders as well this season, who started in the ‘C’ event of their home club league and have since worked their way up to place second. Among those looking to execute the team’s goal of improving their results – and having fun – are Maddy Warriner (Burlington, Ont.) and Kaelyn Gregory (Shelburne, Ont.).
Warriner, a sophomore for the maroon machine, is a U18 provincial champion and finished fourth at nationals in 2018, showcasing a knack for performing on the big stage. Gregory, meanwhile, is a two-time U21 provincial champion, attending nationals in 2016 and 2019. Between these two decorated athletes and the rest of the Marauders squad, the team has their sights set on top spot.
“The Marauders have landed in Guelph and we’re going for gold,” said head coach John Gregory.
Also looking to build on a successful regular season is the McMaster men’s rink, who enters with Daniel Van Veghel at the helm. The Oshawa, Ont. native, another former U18 provincial champion, has led the squad to a 6-4-1 record in the university spiels and a 12-2 record in the team’s competitive league. The third-year curler will look to keep racking up the wins this weekend in his rookie season at skip.
With a pair of seventh-place finishes in tow from a year ago, the Windsor Lancers are looking forward to this season’s provincial finale and making even more noise in the standings. According to head coach Phil Daniel, “we are really enthusiastic about this year’s championships and looking to build on last year’s results”.
To build on the results, however, both the women’s and men’s rinks will turn to some new faces. The former features four members of the team in their first or second year, while the latter lost three members to graduation. Despite the new look, neither side is wavering in their expectations, especially with Rachel Katzman (Windsor, Ont.) and Graham Dolsen (Tecumseh, Ont.) still sporting the blue and gold.
Katzman, now a senior with the Lancers, is a natural leader on the team. Her teammates all look up to her thanks to these leadership skills and international experience, both of which she’ll look to put into practice this weekend. Dolsen, meanwhile, will also head into Guelph as the most experienced member of his rink, with his teammates turning to him for guidance as someone with plenty of high-level play under his belt.
Another championship participant that will play a leading role for her squad is Mikayla Mundy (Keswick, Ont.), as the Trent skip prepares for her final championship showing. Since arriving in her first year with the Excalibur, the senior has emerged as a lynchpin to the team’s success, and she will once again be relied upon in her fifth and final banner season event. As a graduating player, Mundy’s calm demeanor, positive attitude, and quiet leadership will help drive the team this week in their quest for the podium, although it will be an emotional experience for the veteran, who says “it’s bittersweet to be playing in my last OUA competition, but I’m excited to close out my Trent curling career with this team by my side.”
While Mundy will be joined by a rookie skip on the women’s side, a veteran – Caleb Clawson (Clarkson, MD) – will take on the role for the men with the hopes of leading his rink to a playoff showing in his final season with the Excalibur.
Like Trent, the knockout rounds are firmly in the sights of the Ontario Tech Ridgebacks, who will see their women’s contingent fight for a spot therein for the first time in program history. With that goal in mind, they will bring three returnees to the table and turn to last year’s experience to make a run at a knockout round appearance. The same plan holds true for the Oshawa squad’s men’s team, who return a quartet of curlers to championship action with the hopes of securing a spot in the quarterfinals for the first time since 2015.
Rounding out the teams looking to make their mark at the 2020 OUA Curling Championship are the host Guelph Gryphons and the Algoma Thunderbirds.
The five days of championship play will begin on Thursday, February 13 with the first slate of pool play draws. The round robin will continue until Sunday evening, when the knockout rounds begin. Quarterfinals will hit the ice at 6:00pm on Sunday, with semifinals to follow on Monday morning (9:00am) and medal matches closing out the festivities at the Guelph Curling Club at 2:00pm.
