It was far from the first time that the outcome of a game would come down to Kira Brunton's final stone, and it certainly won't be the last.
And truth be told, the skip of the Lockerby Vikings girls curling team is just fine with that.
"I just have to remind myself to take that extra breath, I find," said Brunton, not all that long after making good on a takeout in the eighth and final end, scoring one and allowing the Vikings to claim the 2017 SDSSAA banner with a 6-5 win over the St. Charles College Cardinals.
"That last rock is like any other rock. I just have to calm myself down. I have a little bit more nerves, but it's manageable."
Making things a little easier was the advantage of playing a straight hit, particularly on Feb. 15 at the Sudbury Curling Club.
"I always like hitting in the last end," said Brunton. "I don't mind having a draw to the four foot, but the ice was kind of interesting that game. We weren't really sure of what draw weight was on both sides."
It was a factor that affected both teams, in a contest that seesawed back and forth.
"We realized that it could go either way, depending on the ice and how everybody played," said Brunton. "A big thing in this game was just figuring out the ice first. It was swingy on one side and straight on the other. We had to jump on that."
The gold-medal-winning Lockerby rink would see Brunton joined by Sydnie Stinson, Jessica Leonard, Abby Deschene and Elizabeth Huska, while the Cardinals' crew featured Jamie Smith, Mikaela Cheslock, Kendra Carriere, Madison Villeneuve and Tessa Gratton.
Also advancing to the Final Four were the Marymount Regals (Bella Croisier, Maggie Daoust, Grace Woodliffe, Sidney Musicco, Brittany Thornton), who fell to St. Charles, and the Sacré-Coeur Griffons (Alyssa McVittie, Emily Brook, Danielle Bucknell, Melody Coulas, Katiya Jones, Audrey Nantel), who lost to Lockerby.
Over on the boys side, there is a dynasty brewing that might surprise high school followers locally. The St. Charles College Cardinals have long been acknowledged for their proficiency in hockey and football, but perhaps not so much in curling.
Yet their 7-3 win over the Sacré-Coeur Griffons in the final constituted not only a third straight city championship for the team, but the ninth overall for the school since the sport was first contested in 1969. Only Lockerby Composite, with 14, can lay claim to more.
The Cards returned four members of their 2016 gold-medal-winning team in the form of Max Cull, Andrew Kohut, Keegan Winters and Carlos Gomes, with freshmen Daniel Langdon and Logan Lalonde stepping in straight after capturing the Rainbow Elementary Bonspiel last January as members of the team representing St/ Paul the Apostle.
Nathan Leonard rounded out the team, while James McVittie, Vincent Shea, Alex Lemay, Marc-André Chabot and Lorne Dussome formed the Griffons' roster. Sacré-Coeur earned silver by virtue of an 8-2 quarter-final win over the Lasalle Lancers, and an 8-6 upset over the Collège Notre-Dame Alouettes.
Following are the lineups for the two remaining semifinal rinks:
- Notre-Dame: Shane Robinson, Sophie Branconnier, Veronique Chouinard, Camille Duhaime
- St. Benedict: Alexi Tracey, Julian Blanchard, Andrew Rocha, Matteo Seguin, Adam Rocha
The NOSSA playdowns will take place on March 2-3 at the Idylwylde Golf & Country Club. Sault Ste. Mari schools earned the sweep in 2016, with Jeunesse-Nord (girls) and Superior Heights (boys) both enjoying a taste of the OFSAA experience last year.
