What an NCAA rule change might mean for junior hockey in Sask.
Nov 18, 2024
Previously, WHL players were declared ineligible to play NCAA hockey in the U.S.
One Saskatchewan team will eliminate another from the Tim Hortons Brier on Friday.
Colton Flasch and his Saskatchewan champions out of the Saskatoon Nutana beat Matt Dunstone’s team out of the Regina Highland 9-8 in an extra end in round-robin play Thursday in Lethbridge.
As a result, the teams will meet Friday in a tiebreaker at the Canadian men’s curling championship. The winners of that game will continue on in the tournament, while the losers will go home. The showdown takes place at 9:30 a.m. Saskatchewan time.
Flasch beat Dunstone 6-4 in the SaskTel Tankard final Feb. 13 in Whitewood. That gave Flasch’s foursome the right to represent Saskatchewan at the Brier, while Dunstone’s team earned a wild-card berth based on its standing in the Canadian Team Ranking System.
In Thursday’s meeting, Flasch opened the game with a deuce in the first end, then stole one in the second and two in the third to take a 5-0 lead.
After Dunstone replied with three in the fourth, Flasch scored one in the fifth to take a 6-3 lead into the break. Dunstone put up a deuce in the sixth and then stole one in the seventh to knot the score.
Flasch scored one in the eighth to go ahead 7-6 and stole one in the ninth, but jammed a takeout attempt in the 10th to allow Dunstone to score two and tie the game.
Flasch didn’t make the same mistake in the extra end, removing a Dunstone rock from the four-foot to score the winning point.
The teams finished the round-robin with 6-2 records and tied for third in Pool A. Alberta’s Kevin Koe and Team Canada’s Brendan Bottcher finished the round-robin with 7-1 records to advance to the playoff round.
In Pool B, the Wild Card #1 entry skipped by Brad Gushue entered Thursday night’s draw with a 7-0 record, guaranteeing him a first-place finish in that pool.
Manitoba’s Mike McEwen and Northern Ontario’s Brad Jacobs each had a 5-2 record entering the final draw and will clinch playoff spots with wins. McEwen was to play Quebec’s Mike Fournier and Jacobs was to meet Nova Scotia’s Paul Flemming.
Jason Gunnlaugson’s Wild Card #3 squad finished the round-robin with a 5-3 record and needed a loss by either McEwen or Jacobs to reach a tiebreaker. B.C.’s Brent Pierce had a 4-3 slate and had to win and get help to get into a tiebreaker.