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Saskatoon captures curling gold at Sask. Winter Games

Feb 21, 2018 | 4:00 PM

It was a seesaw battle between two great teams, but in the end Team Saskatoon squeezed out a 6-4 win over Rivers West to claim the gold medal in the men’s curling competition at the Sask. Winter Games.  

The Wednesday morning match was an even affair, coming down to the final end when skip Daymond Bernath scored two in the eighth end to break a 4-4 tie and capture top honors.

“It was definitely nerve-wracking making that final shot,” 16-year-old Bernath said. “My team did a great job calming me down before I got in the hacks, which certainly helped.”

Bernath was joined by Third Brayden Grindheim, Second shot David Baum, Lead Ryan Johnson and Coach Laurie Burrows during the medal presentation ceremony, where he had nothing but praise for the organizers of the Sask. Winter Games and the teams involved.

“This was a great event for sure,” he said. “The ice was great, the competition was top notch, and we had a lot of fun.”

Teammate Brayden Grindheim echoed the sentiments of his skip with regards to the tournament organizers.

“This was a great atmosphere to play in,” Grindheim added. “It was made even better with the close final.”

Team Rivers West, comprised of Skip Cody Sutherland, Third Doug Sroka, Second Bruce Krepps, Lead Jack Reid and Coach Kevin Sutherland, took home the silver medal after going undefeated in the round robin portion of the tournament. Team South East reeled off four consecutive points and came from behind to defeat Parkland Valley 5-4 in the bronze medal game.

Curling action resumes with the ladies competition on Thursday and Friday, with the championship games slated for Saturday at noon.

 

roger.white@jpbg.ca

On Twitter:@RJWtheReporter