HOG LINE: U18 nationals a learning experience for Freeman

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 27/05/2022 (1443 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

I’m not going to lie, curling usually isn’t what’s on the front of my mind when the later stages of spring arrives.

That’s changed a little bit this year as a bevy of international and national bonspiels have taken place over the last month, in addition to the continuous cycle of lineup changes for the next Olympic cycle.

As someone who was usually done his club season by the end of March, getting the chance to throw rocks when you could be wearing shorts outside has always intrigued me.

So who better to ask about that scenario than Virden’s Jace Freeman, who took part in the Canadian Under-18 Curling Championships in Oakville, Ont. from May 1 to 7 as the third for Jordon McDonald’s rink from the Deer Lodge Curling Club in Winnipeg.

“It definitely felt a bit weird to be walking into a rink with a T-shirt instead of a big coat,” said Freeman, who was in his first national event.

“To be honest though, the ice was great down there and the organizers did a great job of managing everything. I didn’t notice any difference at all compared to what we normally see out in Manitoba.”

The McDonald rink — which also featured Elias Huminicki and Cam Olafson — posted a 4-4 record at the tournament and finished in seventh place.

That result was the best of the four rinks representing the province, as Ryan Ostrowsky’s West St. Paul squad also took part in the men’s event, while Zoey Terrick of Neepawa and Grace Beaudry of the St. Vital in Winnipeg competed in the women’s tournament.

While Freeman admitted they probably could have judged the ice a little better and struggled at times on some line calls, he felt the team played really well throughout the entire week.

“I feel like if we played like we did at an under-21 provincials, we’d probably have a good chance of winning the whole thing,” Freeman said. “It’s such a strong field, though, when you get to a national event like that and you have the best of the best competing there. It’s pretty close to what you see at the Viterra.

“I learned a lot in Oakville, especially when seeing how differently the game is called by teams from other provinces. That’s something you don’t get when you are only playing in Manitoba.”

The U18 nationals marked Freeman’s final event of a busy season, as he travelled the U21 tournament trail, played with his dad Graham’s rink in the Westman Super League of Curling and also threw rocks at a pair of U21 provincials — which McDonald won — and the Viterra Championship.

“I think everyone in our age group was just happy to be playing again,” Freeman said. “It was a bonus to have such a long season as well as I feel like I’ve improved a ton compared to where I was at two years ago.

“It definitely feels like it’s getting more normal again for sure. When we were at the nationals, it felt like a normal event from prior to the (COVID-19) pandemic as there wasn’t as many rules and regulations to follow. It was kind of refreshing in a way.”

Although summer is fast approaching, Freeman is already starting to think about the upcoming season.

He’ll be skipping a new rink — which will feature Thomas McGillivray, Ostrowsky and Aaron Macdonell — that is setting their sights on wearing the Buffalo at the 2023 Canadian Juniors in Rouyn-Noranda, Que.

“The season actually doesn’t feel that far away … we might even start playing games in August,” Freeman joked.

• • •

Back in November, I wrote a column about how the Riverview Curling Club was celebrating its 50th anniversary.

At the time, they were in a holding pattern with how they would mark the occasion due to COVID-19 restrictions.

The club will finally get the chance to mark its golden anniversary on Saturday, June 4 with a banquet at the facility starting with cocktails at 5 p.m.

A limited amount of tickets for the event — which cost $20 each — are still available at the club or by calling 204-728-6004.

• • •

In putting together this final edition of the column for the 2021-22 season, I was reminded that I promised to make fun of my Tim Hortons Brier predictions once the event concluded in March.

So what if it’s a three-month delay … I was waiting to see if a random team in Kenora was going to pick me up as a fifth to become the dynasty in Northern Ontario men’s curling following the breakup of the Brad Jacobs rink.

Seeing that I’m still a member of The Brandon Sun sports department, I think it’s about time that we check in on how my picks to click in Lethbridge fared.

In hindsight, I wasn’t completely far off in some aspects, as I had Kevin Koe’s Alberta rink capturing the title, though no one had him losing to a three-player squad.

Given everything Brad Gushue’s team had to deal with once Mark Nichols was sidelined with a positive COVID-19 test, their run to the Brier crown was one of the best in recent memory.

I had them slated for fourth in my predictions leading into the event, as I had no idea what to expect after they competed in the Olympics.

That might seem bad in hindsight, but that’s nothing compared to selecting Jacobs and Matt Dunstone to finish second and third, or thinking that Brendan Bottcher was going to end up in the middle of the pack.

I think this goes to show that you should never bet on curling, or trust my predictions for any pools you may be in.

I’ll see you again next fall, where I’ll end up picking Marilyn Bodogh to be the favourite for the Scotties just to throw everything out of whack.

» lpunkari@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @lpunkari