Sask men’s and women’s provincial curling: Playoff update

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The playoff round has arrived at the Saskatchewan men’s and women’s provincial curling championships.

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After putting together a 7-1 round robin record, Jolene Campbell and her Regina squad secured the No. 1 seed at the Viterra Prairie Pinnacle, setting up a showdown with Nancy Martin and her Saskatoon rink in the women’s 1-2 page playoff game on Saturday night at 7 p.m. Martin beat Penny Barker and her Moose Jaw rink 11-4 on Saturday morning to secure the No. 2 seed.

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And in the 1-2 page playoff game, it was Campbell and company continuing their strong play with a dominant 9-2 victory advancing them straight to Sunday’s final (3 p.m.) while Martin heads to the semifinal at 9 a.m.

Meanwhile in the 3-4 page playoff game on Saturday night, it was Ashley Thevenot and her Saskatoon squad beating Moose Jaw’s Team Penny Barker 8-5 to advance to the semifinal while Barker was eliminated. Team Thevenot — who won last year’s championship with skip Skylar Ackerman — clinched a playoff spot earlier in the day with a win in the final round robin game.

On the men’s side, Steve Laycock and his Swift Current team secured top spot through the round robin of the SaskTel Tankard with a 7-1 record. And in the 1-2 page playoff game, Laycock — who has made 10 trips to the Brier in his career — beat Team Dustin Kalthoff 9-8 to book a spot in Sunday’s final, which is set for 7 p.m.

Kalthoff will now head to Sunday’s semifinal at 10 a.m., which will be against Team Rylan Kleiter, got beat Regina’s Team Kelly Knapp 8-6 in the page 3-4 playoff game on Saturday night.

The men’s winner will represent Saskatchewan at the Montana’s Brier from Feb. 28 to Mar. 9 in Kelowna, B.C., where they will be joined by another Saskatchewan squad skipped by Mike McEwen, who has already earned one of three pre-qualified spots. The women’s winner will represent Saskatchewan at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts from Feb. 14-23 in Thunder Bay, Ont.

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Playoff schedule and scores:

Saturday 7 p.m.

• 1 vs. 2 page playoff: Campbell 9, Martin 2 (Winner advances to final, loser to semifinal)
• 3 vs. 4 page playoff: Thevenot 8, Barker 5 (Winner advances to semifinal, loser is eliminated)

Sunday 9 a.m.

• Semifinal: Martin vs. Thevenot (loser of 1 vs. 2 against winner of 3 vs. 4)

Sunday 3 p.m.

• Women’s final: Campbell vs. semifinal winner

Playoff schedule:

Saturday 8 p.m.

• 1 vs. 2 page playoff: Laycock 9, Kalthoff 8 (Winner advances to final, loser to semifinal)
• 3 vs. 4: Kleiter 8, Knapp 6 (Winner advances to semifinal, loser is eliminated)

Sunday 10 a.m.

• Semifinal: Kalthoff vs. Kleiter (loser of 1 vs. 2 against winner of 3 vs. 4)

Sunday 7 p.m.

• Men’s final: Laycock vs. semifinal winner

Viterra Prairie Pinnacle

Team Campbell Regina (Highland Curling Club)

Skip Jolene Campbell, third Rachel Erickson, second Abby Ackland, lead Dayna Demmans

Campbell has won the provincial title five times before, including once at the skip in 2016. Last year, Campbell curled out of Manitoba before coming back to Saskatchewan to take a run at the green jacket this year.

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Team Martin (Saskatoon Nutana Curling Club)

Skip Nancy Martin, third Chaelynn Stewart, second Kadriana Lott, lead Deanna Doig

Not only was Martin the runner-up last year against Ackerman, but she also lost in the 2023 final to Robyn Silvernagle. This year, the team has brought in mixed doubles standout Kadriana Lott from Manitoba to play second.

Team Barker (Moose Jaw Curling Centre)

Skip Penny Barker, third Lindsay Bertsch, second Taryn Schachtel, lead Danielle Sicinski, coach Sherry Anderson

Barker is a two-time provincial champion having won it all in 2017 and again in 2022. The group, which brought in Bertsch and Schachtel this season, is third among Saskatchewan-based teams on the CTRS standings this season.

Team Thevenot (Saskatoon Nutana Curling Club)

Skip Ashley Thevenot, third Brittany Tran, second Taylor Stremick, lead Kaylin Skinner, coach Susan O’Connor

After Ackerman decided to step away from the game, Thevenot moved from third to skip and the team brought in Tran.

And the squad has continued their strong play this year as they come into the event as the top Saskatchewan-based team on the Canadian Team Ranking System standings.

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SaskTel Tankard

Team Laycock (Swift Current Curling Club)

Skip Steve Laycock, third Shaun Meachem, second Chris Haichert, lead Brayden Grindheim

Laycock, who has 10 Brier appearances in his career, earned his Tankard ticket this year in a last-chance qualifier. Last year, Laycock lost to Kleiter in the Page 3-4 playoff game after losing to Knapp in the final in 2023.

Team Kalthoff (Saskatoon Nutana Curling Club)

Skip Dustin Kalthoff, third Josh Heidt, lead Mat Ring

Kalthoff and company had a good showing at provincials last year but lost in the playoff tiebreaker to Steve Laycock. This season, they were among the top three Saskatchewan-based teams on the Canadian Team Ranking System standings but earlier this month, the team announced second Sam Wills was stepping away due to personal reasons.

Team Kleiter (Saskatoon Nutana Curling Club)

Skip Rylan Kleiter, third Joshua Mattern, second Matthew Hall, lead Trevor Johnson, coach Dean Kleiter

Kleiter, who recently competed at the Canadian Mixed Doubles Trials, was the runner-up to McEwen last year in the provincial final losing 7-3. This year, the up-and-coming Saskatoon squad will look to get over the hump this year as one of the favourites.

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Team Knapp (Regina Highland Curling Club)

Skip Kelly Knapp, third Brennen Jones, second Mike Armstrong, lead Trent Knapp, alternate Dustin Kidby, coach Brian McCusker

After missing the playoff round last year at the Tankard, the 2023 provincial champions are back again this year with the same lineup looking for their second trip to the Brier.

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Sasktel Tankard round robin standings and scores:

1. Laycock 7-1
2. Kalthoff 6-2
3. Kleiter 5-3
4. Knapp 5-3
5. Derksen 4-4
6. Jacobson 3-5
7. Thomas 3-5
8. Ede 2-6
9. Moser 1-7

Draw 1 scores (Tuesday 12 p.m.)

• Laycock 10, Ede 2
• Knapp 6, Kalthoff 5
• Kleiter 7, Moser 6
• Thomas 6, Jacobson 2

Draw 2 scores (Tuesday 8 p.m.)

• Derksen 8, Thomas 7
• Kleiter 9, Jacobson 5
• Laycock 10, Kalthoff 4
• Knapp 8, Ede 6

Draw 3 scores (Wednesday 12 p.m.)

• Kalthoff 5, Kleiter 4
• Laycock 9, Thomas 5
• Jacobson 8, Ede 3
• Moser 11, Derksen 4

Draw 4 scores (Wednesday 8 p.m.)

• Laycock 9, Jacobson 6
• Ede 8, Moser 6
• Derksen 10, Knapp 8
• Kleiter 8, Thomas 4

Draw 5 scores (Thursday 8 a.m.)

• Knapp 10, Moser 2
• Jacobson 9, Derksen 5
• Laycock 7, Kleiter 6
• Kalthoff 5, Ede 3

Draw 6 scores (Thursday 4 p.m.)

• Kleiter 8, Ede 4
• Kalthoff 7, Moser 6
• Knapp 7, Thomas 5
• Derksen 9, Laycock 8

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Draw 7 scores (Friday 8 a.m.)

• Thomas 8, Moser 2
• Laycock 5, Knapp 4
• Ede 7, Derksen 4
• Kalthoff 8, Jacobson 2

Draw 8 scores (Friday 4 p.m.)

• Kalthoff 7, Derksen 4
• Thomas 7, Ede 5
• Jacobson 13, Moser 4
• Kleiter 8, Knapp 5

Draw 9 scores (Saturday 2 p.m.)

• Knapp 11, Jacobson 7
• Derksen 7, Kleiter 2
• Kalthoff 6, Thomas 2
• Laycock 8, Moser 4

Viterra Prairie Pinnacle standings and scores:

1. Campbell 7-1
2. Martin 6-2
3. Barker 5-3
4. Thevenot 5-3
5. Englot 3-5
6. Selzer 3-5
7. McCartney 3-5
8. Stevenson 3-5
9. Holland 1-7

Draw 1 scores (Tuesday 8 a.m.)

• McCartney 10, Holland 9
• Barker 6, Thevenot 2
• Campbell 9, Englot 4
• Selzer 8, Martin 7

Draw 2 scores (Tuesday 4 p.m.)

• Martin 8, Stevenson 3
• Englot 6, Selzer 4
• Barker 7, McCartney 1
• Thevenot 8, Holland 5

Draw 3 scores (Wednesday 8 a.m.)

• Barker 9, Englot 2
• Martin 7, McCartney 6
• Holland 9, Selzer 6
• Campbell 7, Stevenson 4

Draw 4 (Wednesday 4 p.m.)

• Selzer 11, McCartney 5
• Campbell 9, Holland 2
• Thevenot 7, Stevenson 1
• Martin 12, Englot 4

Draw 5 scores (Thursday 12 p.m.)

• Campbell 7, Thevenot 5
• Selzer 7, Stevenson 5
• Englot 6, McCartney 5
• Barker 7, Holland 5

Draw 6 scores (Thursday 8 p.m.)

• Holland 9, Englot 6
• Campbell 11, Barker 5
• Martin 8, Thevenot 6
• McCartney 8, Stevenson 7

Draw 7 scores (Friday 12 p.m.)

• Campbell 8, Martin 3
• Thevenot 9, McCartney 6
• Stevenson 9, Holland 7
• Barker 8, Selzer 3

Draw 8 scores (Friday 8 p.m.)

• Stevenson 8, Barker 7
• Martin 9, Holland 4
• Campbell 8, Selzer 7
• Thevenot 8, Englot 3

Draw 9 scores (Saturday 10 a.m.)

• Thevenot 9, Selzer 6
• Stevenson 8, Englot 5
• Martin 11, Barker 4
• McCartney 9, Campbell 8

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