MOOSEJAWTODAY.COM -- It took an extra end to get things done, but Saskatchewan 1 has once again won the Canadian Wheelchair Curling Championship.
Skip Gil Dash, third Marie Wright, second Moose Gibson and lead Sheryl Pederson took a 7-6 extra-end victory over Newfoundland and Labrador’s Doug Dean in the gold medal game on Saturday afternoon at the Moose Jaw Curling Centre.
The national title was the fifth for Dash and Wright, the fourth for Gibson and first for Pederson.
The victory also makes Saskatchewan back-to-back champions after defeating Dean as a member of Northern Ontario in the title game last season.
“This victory feels great, both teams left it all out on the ice,” said Dash, who led Sask 1 to an 8-2 round robin record and a first-place bye into the final. “The score could have been the same, could have been higher, but I thought we played a smart game. We were reading the ice well, the front end played well and we just got it done.”
Dash and crew got off to a fantastic start, picking up points the first two ends, adding a deuce in the fourth and another steal in the fifth for a 5-1 lead.
Dean closed ground with a pair in the sixth, though, and after holding Sask 1 to a single point in the seventh, completed the comeback with a nearly perfectly played end for three and a 6-6 tie.
Saskatchewan was able to refocus quickly though, and played a solid end of their own in the extra. That all led to Dean needing a draw to the four-foot with his final shot, but it came in a touch heavy, and Gibson’s bellow of joy from the other end of the ice said everything one needed to know.
Newfoundland had earlier taken an 8-4 win over British Columbia’s Gerry Austgarden -- scoring five in the seventh end in the process -- to advance to the gold medal game.
Be sure to check back Sunday for much, much more from Saskatchewan’s impressive victory!
