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

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The championship matchups have been determined at the Saskatchewan men’s and women’s provincial curling championships.

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On the women’s side, Jolene Campbell and her Regina squad will take on Saskatoon’s Team Nancy Martin for the Viterra Prairie Pinnacle title and a a trip to the Scotties Tournament of Hearts while Steve Laycock and his Swift Current rink will battle Saskatoon’s Team Rylan Kleiter in the men’s final with a trip to the Brier on the line.

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The women’s final gets underway Sunday at 3 p.m. while the men’s final starts at 7 p.m., both inside Kindersley’s West Central Events Centre.

After putting together a 7-1 round robin record, Campbell secured the No. 1 seed, setting up a showdown with Martin in the women’s 1-2 page playoff game on Saturday night.

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 while Martin headed to the semifinal.

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.

And in the women’s semifinal on Sunday morning, Martin spoiled any chance of a repeat and booked her spot in the final with a high-scoring 15-8 victory.

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.

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Kalthoff headed to Sunday’s semifinal against Kleiter, who beat Regina’s Team Kelly Knapp 8-6 in the page 3-4 playoff game on Saturday night. And in the semifinal, Kleiter narrowly got by Kalthoff 7-5 to book his spot in the final against Laycock.

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.

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 15, Thevenot 8

Sunday 3 p.m.

• Women’s final: Campbell vs. Martin

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)

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Sunday 10 a.m.

• Semifinal: Kleiter 7, Kalthoff 5

Sunday 7 p.m.

• Men’s final: Laycock vs. Kleiter

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.

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.

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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.

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.

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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.

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

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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

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

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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 scores (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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