Curling team comes close

There were 13 teams and only five spots at Alberta junior men’s curling provincials up for grabs this past weekend in Calgary.

A Medicine Hat team came heartbreakingly close to winning one of them.

The Gas City team of skip Connor Zeidell, third Alex Bowyer, second Wyatt Herselman and lead Lane Rempel got to the C final at the North Hill Curling Club in Calgary Sunday, only to come up short in an 8-6 loss to Airdrie’s Jared Palanuik.

The Zeidell team opened well, winning 9-3 over Edmonton’s Justus Otto Friday. They lost 118 to Cassiel Kobylnyk of Okotoks after taking a 7-2 lead into the seventh end to fall into the B bracket, then beat St. Albert’s Nathan Molberg 6-4 Saturday morning. Against Molberg, the Zeidell team scored two in the fifth and eighth ends but Molberg’s three in the seventh kept things close. It was Zeidell’s steal of one in the ninth that was the difference.

In a B semifinal, Zeidell and company lost 8-5 to Aidrie’s Andrew Manson. Now needing two straight wins to get to provincials, they beat James Ballance’s team out of Okotoks and Cochrane 10-3 to get to the C final.

In the deciding match Sunday afternoon against Palanuik, 10 ends were not enough. Zeidell was held to a single in the 10th to leave the score 66, then Palanuik scored two in the extra end to win.

Palanuik had lost the A final, then a B final before finally sneaking through. Provincials are Jan. 2-6 in Okotoks.

No Hat women’s teams were entered in the girls qualifying draw at Brooks.