Revenge, they say, is a dish best served cold.
Which certainly applies to a sheet of curling ice.
The Vernon-Salmon Arm Rink of captain Nolan Blaeser of Vernon, third Kaiden Beck and brother Nolan in second, both of Salmon Arm, and lead Koen Hampshire of Vernon won the British U18 Men’s Curling Championship Briton in Richmond.
Blaeser’s quartet beat Port Moody’s Adrian Tam 10-5 in the Championship Final on Friday, December 30. The win avenged the North Okanagan-Shuswap Rink’s only loss to the Provincials and an 8-6 loss in the A-Test final on Thursday, Dec. 30. 29.
Trailing the gold medal game 5-3 after five ends, Blaeser took the lead for good with three in the sixth, and earned handshakes and the provincial title by stealing four in the seventh end.
Austin Tomlinson of Salmon Arm threw a third rock for Tam.
Blaeser Rink, coached by Vernon’s Dale Hofer, now advances to the Canadian Championships in Canadian country music legend Shania Twain’s hometown of Timmins, Ont., Feb. 6-11.
Blaeser started the five-team provincial championships with a 9-6 victory over Taj McKenzie of Vancouver-Delta, then advanced to the A final with a 7-1 loss to Liam Shelin of Comox Valley.
After losing to Tam, the Blaeser foursome earned a playoff berth, winning Event B with a 9-3 decision over Dawson Creek’s Casey Patterson.
Blaeser scored a 6-4 victory over McKenzie in the BC playoff game to advance to the championship against Tam.
On the women’s seven-team side, Vernon-Kamloops Rink led by Ava Arndt of Vernon went 1-3.
Arndt, who had Vernon’s Ivy Jensen in second, and Kamloops sisters Bethany (third), Jillian (first) and Alicia (fifth player), opened the provincials with an 11-10 victory over Erin Manning of Penticton. Arndt was then dropped to Event B after a 7-1 loss to New Westminster-Vancouver’s Bryelle Wong.
Manning beat Arndt 7-5 in Event B, and the Vernon-Kamloops team was eliminated in Event C after an 8-3 loss to Keelie Duncan of Comox, Duncan, Vancouver and Port Moody.
Holly Hafeli of Kamloops won the BC title and a trip to Timmins for the nationals with a 6-3 victory over Duncan in the final. Manning Rink won bronze.
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