Banner Season: Provincial bonspiel bringing conference curlers to championship stage
Burlington, Ont. – After the women’s finale hit the ice last week, the OUA’s men’s contingent are on deck for their banner season bonspiel. Wilfrid Laurier has claimed the last two titles, but the remaining 15 competitors heading to Peterborough, Ont. are hungry to see a new conference champion crowned at the 2023 OUA Men’s Curling Championship. Draws will run from Friday, February 10th to Sunday, February 12th, with round robin play set to kick off the event this weekend at the Peterborough Curling Club.
Championship Details
When: Friday, February 10 to Sunday, February 12
Where: Peterborough Curling Club
Participating Schools (16): Algoma Thunderbirds, Brock Badgers, Carleton Ravens, Guelph Gryphons, Laurentian Voyageurs, McMaster Marauders, Ontario Tech Ridgebacks, Queen’s Gaels, Toronto Varsity Blues, TMU Bold, Trent Excalibur (host), Waterloo Warriors, Western Mustangs, Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks, Windsor Lancers, York Lions
Defending Champions: Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks
Student-Athletes to Watch:
Treyton Cowell, Ontario Tech Ridgebacks | A third-year member of the Ontario Tech rink, Cowell was instrumental in the Ridgebacks’ strong run a season ago. Back for another year with the team as second, the Craighurst, Ont. native is hoping to bring leadership at the front end and build on his previous banner season outing that saw him become the first Ridgeback in program history to be named an OUA curling all-star.
Matteo Desando, Windsor Lancers | Desando took the reins last year after the team’s skip stepped down unexpectedly and performed well for the Lancers at the 2022 provincial finale. The LaSalle, Ont. curler impressed with his ability to lead and perform under pressure, assets that will come in handy once again when taking on the upcoming conference competition.
Chris Inglis, Trent Excalibur | Originating from Prince Edward County, Ont., Inglis has curled for over 18 years. The sociology student brings a multitude of experience to the Trent squad, even in his first year with the team, as he has previously appeared in 11 provincial finals, won 11 OJCT championships, and became a U18 men’s national champion in 2019.
Josh Landry, McMaster Marauders | Landy will compete in his first ever OUA Championship this weekend and is one of multiple such members of the McMaster rink. In his inaugural year with the maroon machine, the New Liskard, Ont. local is bringing many years of competitive curling to the table, not the least of which includes appearances in provincial championships in Northern Ontario.
Derek Leung, Laurentian Voyageurs | Leung is a long-time member of the Laurentian rink, now in his fifth year with the team, and the sport is something that has meant a lot to him both on the ice and in the classroom. Not only is the Toronto, Ont. curler proficient with the rock, having represented Team Hong Kong at the 2018 Asia-Pacific Curling Championships, but he also studied the evolution stones for his Masters.
Sam Mooibroek, Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks | The second-year arts student is looking forward to building off the golden showing at the 2022 OUA championship. Finishing runner-up at the FISU qualifier in September and winning the Canadian U25 Next Gen event have motivated the Kitchener, Ont. local to reach higher levels and strive for excellence this year. The 2020 Ontario Winter Games champion is looking to find the same groove the team found last year in route to winning the 2022 OUA title.
Dylan Niepage, Guelph Gryphons | Niepage, a third-year accounting major, has skipped both for the university and for his competitive U21/men’s teams. The Oro Medonte, Ont. native will be competing at the U21 Provincials in Ottawa next month, but before he does so, the former junior champion that represented Ontario at last year’s U21 national competition will look to put his best foot forward against the rest of the varsity contingent this weekend.
Alexander Rumble, Western Mustangs | Rumble started curling when he was 12, but only began competing during his high school years. Throughout that stretch, he competed in several events, but came short of competing at OFSAA due to COVID-19 cancellations. The second-year biology student from Toronto, Ont. has also participated in provincial events such as the Ontario School Curling Provincial Championships.
Victor Pietrangelo, Brock Badgers | The Niagara Falls, Ont. product has had an exciting season, with victories in the Next Generation U25 mixed doubles event in Edmonton, Alta. in September and also a win at the Ontario Mixed Doubles Tour Championship in January. Pietrangelo and his partner are now ranked in the top five mixed doubles teams in Ontario and is continuing to become one of the top double players in the province with next generation funding. The accounting major continues to bring his wealth of experience and skill to the Badgers varsity team for his second season of varsity competition.
Owen Purdy, Queen’s Gaels | A fifth-year senior, Purdy has had a strong run of success with the Gaels during his tenure. The 2018-19 Queen’s rookie of the year was an OUA first team all-star lead that year and he’ll look to bookend his varsity tenure with a similar outing this weekend, as he helps the team continue their recent string of success and bounce back from what was a slow start to the year.
Landan Rooney, Toronto Varsity Blues | 2021-22 all-star Rooney will serve as skip for the young Blues squad vying for their first banner since 2014. Rooney is coming off a tremendous season, winning both the Ontario and Canadian U21 Championships, and is preparing for the upcoming 2023 World Junior Championships at the end of the month in Germany.
Hunter Schumacher, Algoma Thunderbirds | Schumacher is the veteran of the young Thunderbirds squad and his experience will be invaluable to the team’s performance. The Wawa, Ont. curler was a member of the Algoma men’s curling team that competed in the 2021 Everest Canadian Curling Club Championships in Ottawa, Ont., while also bringing a bevy of banner season appearances to this weekend’s latest bonspiel.
Storylines to Keep an Eye On:
Brock is set with a new skip joining four returning players. Owen Henry, a first-year statistics student at Brock, was named skip and brings some Canadian curling experience to the team from his time with Team Ontario at last year’s U18 Championships. Henry, alongside returning vice Pietrangelo, have been steadily building their chemistry on the ice and have made vast improvements during the season. They are looking forward to continuing those positive strides to better the team’s performance from a year ago and make the playoff rounds at the 2023 OUA Championship.
After falling in the quarterfinals at last year’s finale, Laurentian is looking to avenge that loss this time around and advance past their previous finish. As host of this year’s U SPORTS Curling Championships, the Voyageurs already know they will be competing next month against the nation’s best, but like the Voyageurs women’s team did to open up the OUA’s winter banner season slate, the men’s rink isn’t looking to simply rely on the ‘host’ entry to punch their ticket to the national showcase.
In addition to the season’s varsity invitationals, the Marauders have been busy practicing and playing weekly in the Dundas Valley’s Competitive Open League. The team has continually put on strong performances in the league’s ‘A’ Division and McMaster is currently a top-five team in the league. With half of the Marauders’ roster comprised of rookies, the maroon and grey are looking to build experience at the OUA Championship and make a run for the playoffs in the process.
After advancing to the OUA quarterfinals in 2022, the Ridgebacks are hoping to go a step further into the medal round this season. Last year was only the second time the Ontario Tech program had advanced past the round robin, but with some returning players and some young additions with experience, the team is hopeful that they have enough to push them over the top this time around and into a medal game.
After getting so close last year and having a good run at U SPORTS, the TMU Bold know that they are capable of bringing home a title. With the experience that the group has, they are aware that they’ll need strong games in the round robin play to advance to the playoffs, but being able to rely on their previous responses to these pressure situations will be extremely valuable and could be the difference between moving on in the playoffs or going home.
The Excalibur squad offers up a mixture of veteran and rookie talent that will look to capture their second OUA men’s curling title in program history. As the host team, Trent is excited to welcome their fellow conference competitors to Peterborough and have the hometown support behind them to buoy their championship aspirations this weekend.
After Western’s previous skip graduated last year, the Mustangs were left without a leader for the upcoming season. Rookies Wyatt Savage and Aiden Gallagher joined the team with great potential to become the next skip and vice for the future. Alongside the additions, the purple and white’s returning players, including Henry Cheng, have made significant strides to improve their skills in anticipation for the bonspiel in Peterborough. And based on his many years of curling experience and recent success on Team Chinese Taipei, Cheng has been named skip for this year’s OUAs with hopes of improving on the team’s ninth-place finish in 2022.
With a mixture of success and close calls over the last year, the Golden Hawks are looking to put it all together at the 2023 OUA Championship and find some similar success to 2022. Much of the team is made up of returning the players and the mindset remains similar, but with every team bringing their A-game at OUAs, each game will be a tough matchup and nothing is a given. The purple and gold are hoping past experience can lead the team back atop the podium.
What They’re Saying:
“We have a new curling team who is looking to gain experience at these championships. We really do not have any expectations, but want to compete at every end.” – Tom Coulterman, Head Coach, Algoma Thunderbirds
“With the addition of national level experience to the skip role that Owen Henry brings to the team, the Brock men are excited to improve upon last year’s showing and have the belief that they will medal at provincials this year.” – Jordan Thin, Coach, Brock Badgers
“We are all very excited to be representing our Marauder community, and McMaster as a whole, this upcoming weekend at the 2023 OUA Championship. We’ve put in the time and work and are ready to play as a team. We’re looking forward to having a successful weekend.” – Daniel Van Veghel, Student-Athlete, McMaster Marauders
“The guys are ready to compete. After early season competitions, they are ready to get at it and take on the best in the OUA.” – Mike Stauffer, Head Coach, Ontario Tech Ridgebacks
“I was not confident in the team until a couple weeks ago. We had a few good practices to iron out some issues and have been performing well in local tournaments. Looking forward to winning the OUA championship this week.” – Colin Schnurr, Student-Athlete, Queen’s Gaels
“I’m going to go out on a limb and say this is the most talent we’ve ever had in the program. Landon, Daniel, and Matthew are all accomplished skips at the U21 level. We’re very hopeful about our chances. The competition is very high and half the field have very strong teams. It’s going to be a very difficult championship, but we like our chances.” – Guy Yerama, Head Coach, Toronto Varsity Blues
“OUAs are what we’ve been working towards all season and this team has all the tools to win. We’ve had some setbacks this season, but the way that this team has worked to learn and improve from some setbacks has been impressive. I know that if they go out and play to the level that they’re capable of, then they’ll be in the running at the end of the weekend.” – Stuart Leslie, Head Coach, TMU Bold
“Playing host to Ontario’s top young curlers is a great honour and we are very excited that we get to compete against them in our home town. Any time that you have 16 university level teams playing in one location is pretty special and I think it is a unique opportunity for Trent and the Peterborough community to play host. The curling community in Peterborough and the surrounding area has always been strong and we look forward to having their hometown support throughout the event.” – Brad Robinson, Head Coach, Trent Excalibur
“I’m proud of the work the boys have put in this year and the strides they’ve made as both curlers and human beings. This is a talented, fun, and exciting group to watch, and I look forward to following and mentoring their development in the coming years. Go Stangs!” – Shane Latimer, Head Coach, Western Mustangs
“I have encouraged the team to be relaxed heading into the weekend. I think a number of teams will look beyond us, and that can often backfire, and it is inspiring our players. We are ready to compete.” – Mike McKay, Head Coach, Windsor Lancers
