Hapnot’s Kweens curling team picked up a zone banner last weekend, coming from behind to win a one-day tournament in The Pas.
Hapnot entered both a girls’ and boys’ team in this year’s Zone 11 championship, which took place Jan. 27. Both teams played their games at The Pas Curling Club, located next to the Roy H. Johnson Arena not far from Margaret Barbour Collegiate (MBCI). Both tournaments consisted of games solely between Hapnot and MBCI, in a best-two-out-of-three draw.
The Kweens and Spartans started the girls’ draw off Friday morning, ending with a 10-2 win for MBCI. That put Hapnot behind the eight-ball, having to win both the second game and a decisive third game to walk out with the zone banner.
At noon, both teams started their second game and Hapnot came through with a victory, beating MBCI 7-6 and forcing a winner-take-all game three.
When 3 p.m. came around, both teams hit the ice once again and in the lowest-scoring game of the day, Hapnot would complete the comeback with a 5-4 victory, claiming the zone banner in enemy territory.
The Hapnot team, consisting of Teslyn Beauchamp, Niki Keramydas, Mackenzie McLean and Nevaya Simard, earned the school’s first curling banner since 2018, when a co-ed team was entered in the girls’ zone tournament due to a lack of players for separate boys and girls’ teams. That team won the zone banner, but was later stripped of it. The team will also move on to curling provincials - Hapnot’s first berth at provincials since 2016, when the school’s girls’ team made the cut.
Hapnot also fielded a boys’ curling team, which played their own zones against MBCI on the same day. The Kings went out to an early lead, beating the Spartans 10-5 and putting them one win away from glory, but the script was flipped for the boys, as MBCI then clawed back. The Spartans beat Hapnot 8-5 in game two, then ran away with game three, taking a 12-3 victory and the boys’ banner.
The Kweens’ curling provincials will also take place in The Pas, this time from Feb. 9-11. A total of 16 teams will be eligible to take part in the weekend spiel.
