Epping's hot season continues in Collingwood; McCarville enters winners circle
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Team John Epping's strong season continued this weekend with a victory at the Stu Sells Living Waters Collingwood Classic.
Epping and his Sudbury foursome of third Jake Horgan, second Tanner Horgan and lead Ian McMillan defeated Switzerland's Team Michael Brunner, 8-1, in Sunday's championship game to finish the four day event at a perfect 5-0.
Team Epping also routed Ontario's Team Scott Howard in the semifinal, 8-2.
The 41-year-old Epping, who had previously played out of Toronto, hasn't appeared in a Canadian men's curling championship since 2021, but has found success with his new Northern Ontario-based rink this season.
Epping's crew were ranked 11th in the world and fourth in Canada coming into this event. They now have three wins on Tour this season, in addition to a finals appearance at the Red Deer Curling Classic last week.
On the women's side of the draw, Thunder Bay's Team Krista McCarville picked up their first victory of the season by beating Woodstock's Team Hollie Duncan in the final, 6-4.
McCarville, with third Andrea Kelly, second Kendra Lilly and lead Ashley Sippala also went 5-0 in Collingwood.
Team McCarville are gearing up to qualify for February's Scotties Tournament of Hearts, as it will be held in their hometown of Thunder Bay. Provincial playdowns take place from Jan. 21-26 with the Scotties running from Feb. 14-23.
For a full list of tour results click the links: Men's Tour / Women's Tour
Everest Club Champions crowned
The 2024 Everest Canadian Curling Club Championship also wrapped up on Sunday in Barrie.
On the men's side, Ontario’s Team Jordan Keon won their second Canadian championship with a perfect 10-0 record, capped by a 7-3 win over Manitoba’s Team Zachary Wasylik in the final.
“It doesn’t get old. We’re club curlers, so we have a game tomorrow in our league. That’s what we do, so we never take these moments for granted. None of us are getting any younger, so to come out here, have a great weekend, and go 10-0 — you never expect to do that, so it feels awesome,” Keon told Curling Canada.
On the women's side, Nova Scotia’s Team Michelle Armstrong downed Team Amanda Power of Prince Edward Island, 10-9, in an extra end thriller.
Armstrong stormed back to win the gold-medal game after trailing 8-3 at the fourth end break.
“I’ll be honest, we haven’t played our best games all week. No game was pretty and we never had eight straight ends that were good. It was first-half lights on and then the wheels fall off in the second half or vice-versa. So to fight back, that’s what I had to do because there many times when I was sitting in the hack and it wasn’t pretty. That was my reminder. I’m privileged to be in the situation right now, so it’s mine to lose,” Armstrong told Curling Canada.
The Everest Curling Senior Championship runs from Dec. 1-7 in Moncton, N.B. You can watch select draws on TSN+.