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Saints men's curling team grabs gold at Zones

The top curling teams from across northeaster Alberta gathered at the Lloydminster Comp Golf and Curling Center last week to see which teams would be heading on to the provincial competition in early March.
The Men’s Saints curling team is made up of Cody Doucet, Blake Gratton, Jakob Martin, Carson Pederson, and Gilles Michaud. The team will move on the compete at
The Men’s Saints curling team is made up of Cody Doucet, Blake Gratton, Jakob Martin, Carson Pederson, and Gilles Michaud. The team will move on the compete at provincials.

The top curling teams from across northeaster Alberta gathered at the Lloydminster Comp Golf and Curling Center last week to see which teams would be heading on to the provincial competition in early March.

While all three of the Regional High School Saints teams offered strong showings after grabbing all three St. Paul Athletic Association banners less than a week prior, it was the Saints men’s team that grabbed a Zone banner, along with securing a spot at provincials.

The boys beat Two Hills School in the semi-final, and moved on to play Lloydminster Comprehensive High School in the gold medal game. The team will now move on the provincials in St. Alberta on March 1 to 3.

The young team is made up of four Grade 10 students, but they “are a dedicated group of young men who all share a passion for the sport,” says coach Andrea Austin.

“They practice regularly, play in an adult open league weekly, and look for extra opportunities to participate in exhibition games,” she adds. “I have coached these boys for several years and I am very proud of them.”

Austin notes that reaching the provincial level in curling is quite the feat, but the team has put in the level of commitment necessary to reach that level.

“They will be great representatives of both their school and their community,” says Austin, when speaking of the upcoming provincial competition.

She added that all three of the Regional High School teams did “exceptionally well” at Zones.

The Saints ladies team also made it to the gold medal match, but lost in a very close game to Notre Dame High School out of Bonnyville.

“The ladies started off with a loss against LCHS (Lloydminster Composite High School). During this game the ladies were learning the ice and adjusting to the keenness of the ice,” says coach Pam Skoreyko. “But with positive attitudes and team spirit, the rest of the games the girls played hard, came together as a team and were very successful with their games.”

The final game was played against Notre Dame out of Bonnyville.

“The ladies started this game off strong and in the lead but Notre Dame made key shots and stole every end leaving us one down, with the hammer coming home. The girls struggled to place the perfect rock and our ladies placed silver,” explained the coach.

The team gained a lot of experience over the two days of curling at Zones, but Skoreyko admits it was heartbreaking to lose the final game.

“These girls put their heart into the game and this was evident throughout the whole season.”

The mixed team lost in the semi-finals and played in a bronze medal match, taking fourth place in the bonspiel, and again representing St. Paul well.


Janice Huser

About the Author: Janice Huser

Janice Huser has been with the St. Paul Journal since 2006. She is a graduate of the SAIT print media journalism program, is originally from St. Paul and has a passion for photography.
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