Calvert earns first win of season

Alyssa Calvert picked up her first win of the Taylor Jackson Financial Services Inc. Westman Superleague 2026-27 season in a blowout victory over Chris Bridges on Wednesday night.

“Nice to put a whole game together,” said Calvert. “We’ve had some really good games that haven’t gone out way in the end.”

Calvert (1-4) entered Wednesday’s contest the loser of four straight matches, having faced Jay Kinnaird, Derek Samagalski, Jeff Stewart and Steve Irwin, who were all in the top four going into this week’s draw.

Longtime second Pam Robins retired from professional curling, leaving the team short one member. They’ve found a replacement for Manitoba Curling Tour events in Winnipeg native Rebecca Kost, but will operate as a trio with substitutes for Superleague draws.

“I don’t deal with (substitutes),” said Calvert with a chuckle. “I’m thankful my teammates deal with that part, but Jenna (Sambrook) has spared with us off and on in this league, and everyone is pretty easy going, so we make it work.”

Calvert and her team started the game against Bridges on the right foot, scoring two in the first end and extending the lead to 3-0 in the second end with another point.

They surrendered a single point in the third end and responded with a four-point fourth end that set Bridges on his heels. At a 7-1 deficit, no one would have blamed Bridges for calling the game after the fourth end.

Calvert delivered the dagger the following end, scoring two more points to finalize the 9-1 win.

Like many of the teams in the Westman Superleague, Calvert appreciates having a regular game slot on Wednesday nights.

“Living in Westman, there are no women’s competitive leagues, so the fact that they have taken us in and haven’t kicked us out, we really appreciate,” said Calvert.

Looking ahead, Calvert faces Justin Anderson on Nov. 11 and takes on the winless Andrew Kempthorne the week after. The Nov. 18 draw marks the midpoint of the season, and it’s entirely realistic Calvert could hold a 3-4 record with a chance to make the playoffs depending on how the next two games go.

Outside of the Superleague, the team is continuing to improve and integrate their new member.

“We are playing in berth for women’s provincials in a couple weeks, then we will have regionals after that,” said Calvert. “We just love curling, so just fun to play together and get out and enjoy each other.”

SAMAGALSKI STILL UNDEFEATED

Derek Samagalski and his team remain undefeated through five weeks of Westman Superleague play, thanks to a 7-1 victory over Brandon University on Wednesday evening.

They dominated the match, racking up a 6-0 lead through four ends thanks to maintaining tight control around the scoring areas.

The game only lasted two more ends. BU scored one point in the fifth and then called it quits after Samagalski scored in the sixth end.

“It always feels good (to win) in this league,” said third Sheldon Wettig. “There are 14 teams that could win the league at any time.”

Team Samagalski competes not only in Westman but also represented Nunavut at the 2026 Montana’s Brier.

One of the reasons they prioritize playing in the Superleague is to ensure they get good practice time given their unique circumstances.

The team consists of lead Justin McDonell, second Christian Smitheram, Wettig serving as third and skip Samagalski.

While Wettig, Samagalski and head coach Geordie Hargreaves play in the Superleague, McDonell and Smitheram live in Iqaluit and train there.

“It takes a lot of communication makes it critical that any time that we get together things have to be focused and we have to go in with a clear plan of what we’re going to work on,” said Wettig. “(We’re) trying to be as efficient with our time as we can.”

Hargreaves serves as lead in the Westman Superleague, which has its benefits. It also provides the team with rare moments of critiquing their coach, something most athletes don’t get an opportunity to do.

“Geordie is a fantastic coach. Having him in game situations it lets him kind of see how we’re reacting in those different situations rather than just in a practice situation,” said Wettig before adding with a laugh, “We also get to rib him a little bit when he misses a broom too.”

In the first end against BU, Hargreaves lost his balance while throwing a rock and tumbled down onto the ice. He popped back up with a smile on his face, and the team continued as normal.

The team is eager to return to the Brier for its 100^th anniversary in 2027. In anticipation, they are working hard to make sure they perform as well as they can at provincial playdowns in Nunavut.

“Hopefully we can get there … realistically we are always at a disadvantage because we can’t train together every week like a lot of the other teams,” said Wettig. “We try to put in the work and hopefully we can get a few wins when we get there.”

In the next two weeks, Samagalski faces Justin West on Nov. 11, followed by a clash with Duane Payette on Nov. 18.

“We don’t take the wins for granted,” said Wettig. “You’ve got so many curlers here who have made high levels at provincials; you’ve got multiple teams that have won this league, so every win is a bonus.”

» rmccarthy@brandonsun.com