Bonar wins provincial seniors with Brown rink

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This article was published 28/03/2023 (1103 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In 1983, Maureen Bonar won her first Manitoba women’s curling championship in Dauphin as the lead for Patti Vande’s team.

Four decades later, the Brandonite captured a provincial senior women’s title at the Dauphin Curling Club as she threw third stones for Joelle Brown’s squad from the Charleswood Curling Club in Winnipeg.

“A lot has changed since then but I think that just shows the beauty of the sport,” Bonar said.

The Brown team, which includes second Natalie Claude, lead Allyson Bell and fifth Deb McCreanor, went 6-1 in round-robin play to earn a bye to Monday’s final, where they beat Terry Ursel’s Neepawa rink by a score of 5-3.

After starting the game with the hammer, Brown jumped out to a 4-0 lead thanks to a steal of two points in the second end and another steal in the third.

“I actually think we controlled things more in our first game against Terry than we did in the final,” Bonar said. “Sometimes when you get a lead like that early on, it can be harder to defend and it can make things a little more nerve-wracking.

“Early on in the week, we talked about going out there as a team and being there for each other through the good, the bad and the ugly. We were the best teammates out there and I think that made a huge difference.”

Bonar says the team is extremely happy for Brown, as she finally captured a provincial title.

“I think she definitely feels like a monkey is off her back,” Bonar added. “She’s been knocking at the door for so long as one of the top curlers in our province and it’s awesome to see her finally get the Buffalo.”

The Brown rink will represent Manitoba at the 2023 Canadian senior curling championships, which run from Dec. 4-10 in Vernon, B.C.

They will be joined at the event by Dave Boehmer’s squad from Petersfield, who captured the men’s title over defending champion Randy Neufeld of LaSalle by a score of 6-5.

Boehmer, who is joined on his team by third Dale Lott, second Sean Bracken and lead George Hacking, trailed 5-3 after five ends but stole points in the last three ends to come away with the championship.

“When you are under the gun like we were, it’s pretty lucky to have a great shooter like Dave there when you need him,” Hacking said. “I think he made three or four great shots today to keep us in it.

“Randy played great too though. He was just a millimetre away from getting a piece of the rock that would have given three or four points on a couple of occasions. If he made those shots … it was game over for us.”

EXTRA ENDS: McCreary’s Zoey Terrick and her team from the Heather Curling Club in Winnipeg are off to a 2-0 start in Pool B play at the Canadian junior curling championships in Rouyn-Noranda, Que. Terrick’s Manitoba 1 side, which features her sisters Jaycee and Tessa, along with Jensen Letham, defeated Bailey Scoffin’s Yukon rink 7-6 on Sunday night and followed that up with a 5-3 win over Nova Scotia 2’s Allyson MacNutt on Monday. The team was back in action this morning against British Columbia’s Emily Bowles and takes on Saskatchewan’s Elizabeth Kessel tonight … Virden’s Jace Freeman had a 2-0 record in Pool A in the men’s event heading into a game last night against British Columbia 2’s Thomas Reid. Freeman, who is joined on his squad by third Thomas McGillivray, second Ryan Ostrowsky and lead Aaron Macdonell, defeated Northern Ontario’s Dallas Burgess by a score of 9-7 on Sunday and beat Alberta 1’s James Ballance 7-3 on Monday. The team takes on Ontario 1’s Jayden King this afternoon.

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