Memorial upsets Laurier to clinch first in men’s draw, salvage spot in playoff round

The Memorial Sea-Hawks hung on late and upset the Laurier Golden Hawks 6-3 on Thursday afternoon, clinching a spot in the semifinals and a chance to play for the national title at the 2025 U SPORTS / Curling Canada Championships at the Lethbridge Curling Club.

Trailing 4-3 in the eighth with hammer and looking to secure top spot themselves and eliminate the Sea-Hawks via tiebreakers in the process, the Golden Hawks (5-2, 2^nd place) had an open opportunity for a draw to the button to force an extra end. But the top team at the Championship this week elected to play a run-double for the win and missed, to hand Memorial the unexpected victory. 

"We came in off a good little run," said Memorial skip Simon Perry, referencing the team's four straight wins dating back to Wednesday, after starting the tournament 1-2.  "We had a rough day Tuesday but we came back, we got momentum going and that's a great win to have going into playoffs." 

Earlier in the day, Memorial stole three straight points before the break for a 5-2 victory over the Carleton Ravens (4-3, 4^th place), who they will face again in Friday's semifinal. The Ravens wrapped up pool play scoring four in the second and three in the sixth, en route to a 9-4 win over Calgary (4-3), who just missed advancing thanks to the tiebreak. 

The Dinos (4-3), meanwhile, also helped Memorial's efforts in claiming top spot, scoring four in the third and holding off a late rally by Laurier in the morning draw to take the game 6-5, ending the Golden Hawks' unbeaten run. 

UNB (4-3) grabbed the final spot in the playoffs finishing third, going up 4-0 on Lethbridge in the afternoon after two, and adding singles in the fourth and fifth for a 6-3 final. The REDS needed the result to qualify, after dropping three of their own in the morning to Brock (4-3, 6^th place) in the opening frame and a pair in the third, losing 6-1. UNB will go up against Laurier in Friday's semifinal. 

Brock concluded their round robin with a 4-2 triumph over Regina, while the Cougars (2-5, 7^th place) picked up their second win, defeating the winless Pronghorns (0-8, 8^th) by a score of 9-6.  

On the women's side, the Golden Hawks (7-0) completed their undefeated run through the round robin. Up 4-1 after three in the afternoon draw, it wasn't enough for Dalhousie (4-3, 4^th place) to beat the best team in the championship. Laurier went on to score in five consecutive ends, stealing five straight points to complete the 7-4 comeback. Then in the evening, they scored three in second and another stolen triple in the fifth, to take down Lethbridge (1-6, 7^th place) by a score of 7-1. 

Laurier and Dalhousie are set to collide again on Friday in the semifinal, for the right to advance.  

Elsewhere, Thompson Rivers (5-2) clinched second thanks to a perfect final day of pool play. 

In a match where all eight combined points were stolen, the WolfPack led 4-1 after five, and scored a pair in the sixth, cementing a 6-2 win over StFX (1-6, 8^th place). Later, they scored two in the sixth and held off a late rally by Regina (3-4, 6^th place), besting the Cougars 5-4.

Thompson Rivers will play third-seeded McMaster (4-3) for a spot in the gold medal match. 

"Our goal is still to play well…We know we can beat most of these teams," said WolfPack skip Holly Hafeli. "We lost to two of the better teams out there, and so I think if we keep playing the same way, we had two close games against them and we'll have a good chance of winning that way."

McMaster claimed third place after going down to the wire in a must-win situation and needing an extra end against Dalhousie, before scoring two in the ninth to get past the Tigers 7-5. That came after the Marauders had four in the fifth and stole two in the sixth, to seal a 9-4 result over the Pronghorns in the opening draw.  

Rounding out on the final day's results, Guelph (3-4, 5^th place) defeated Regina 6-4 and StFX 9-5

Of the schools remaining in contention, the men's rinks have combined to win five of the last seven championships and have earned a total of 10 medals. Only Laurier has captured the women's national title, but not since winning four times in five years from 2008-12. The women's teams have also captured 11 medals overall, with McMaster looking for its first podium finish. 

"That would mean everything," said McMaster skip Maggie Fitzgerald, who throws second. "Just from personal experience, I've never even been at nationals. And being a first-year, I just feel really lucky to be on this team. I just love everyone and it would be just incredible. For everyone, we'd all love that."  

Semifinal action at the Lethbridge Curling Club begins Friday morning at 11:30 a.m. ET / 9:30 a.m. MT followed by the bronze and gold medal matches at 4:30 p.m. ET / 2:30 p.m. MT. 

Schedule and Results