麻豆社区

The Yukon's two powerhouse junior curling teams are hoping to advance to the national championships for the seventh-straight year this weekend in Teslin.

The territory's junior playdowns are scheduled to take place Saturday and Sunday at the Teslin Curling Club.

Team Koltun and Team Young, skipped by Will Mahoney, are each looking to extend their territorial championship runs to a seventh year.

Winners will represent the Yukon at the 2013 M&M Meat Shops Canadian Junior Curling Championships in Fort McMurray, Jan. 31 to Feb. 10.

Four rinks will compete this weekend 鈥� two men's teams, and two women's.

Team Young will battle Team Nerysoo in the men's draw, and Team Koltun will square off with Team Horte in the women's. Both will be a best-of-three series.

This year's playdowns mark the last year of junior eligibility for 20-year-old curlers Will Mahoney and Mitch Young. For the past six years, they have played alongside Thomas Scoffin, now the skip of the University of Alberta's Golden Junior Bears.

"I think it makes everything different for us,鈥� Mahoney said of Scoffin's absence.

"Mitch is a great thrower at last rock for us, so it's not going to be more difficult. It's going to be a different dynamic.鈥�

Mahoney and Young formed a trio with Scoffin in 2006, working with other team members such as Nick Koltun, Josh Burns and David Aho over the years.

They came together in order to make a run at the 2007 Canada Winter Games hosted by Whitehorse, and stayed together to pursue national gains.

This year, Mahoney will skip, Young will throw last stone, and the duo will play alongside second Joe Wallingham and lead Spencer Wallace, in what will mark the end of an era.

"I think we need to play as a team, and make every shot as a team,鈥� Mahoney told the Star. "We also have to adjust to the ice. We have world-class ice here in Whitehorse, and it's not going to be the same playing down there.鈥�

Despite never facing skip Christopher Nerysoo in competition before, Mahoney said he and Young will bank on their previous experience to pull them through.

"We're fairly confident with our skills right now,鈥� he said. "They don't have as much experience as us at this kind of level, so we're quite confident. The experience that we bring is definitely an advantage, as well as being able to play on different ice.

But we're just going to look at controlling what we can.鈥�

Head coach Wade Scoffin has coached Mahoney and Young since the team's beginnings in 2006.

"It's been really neat from a coaching perspective to have that long-term of a relationship with advancing and developing these two guys from Grade 7 to now, when they're 20 years old,鈥� he said. "It's very different now coaching them as young adults.鈥�

Young is attending university in Calgary, but Scoffin said the team hasn't missed a beat.

"We have a lot of confidence in the time and preparation he's putting in,鈥� he said.

"Mitch will fit back in like a glove.

"Hopefully we'll be successful this weekend, to be able to represent Yukon one more time and to really enjoy this opportunity at juniors.鈥�

Nerysoo is new to the Yukon, moving from Inuvik, N.W.T. prior to this season. His rink includes Bailey Muir-Cressman, second Karn Seaman and lead Nathan Kopan.

The young developing team is coached by Jeff Cressman.

On the women's side, Team Koltun will battle Team Horte for the territorial crown.

Koltun, 19, will play alongside mate Chelsea Duncan at third, Patty Wallingham at second and Jenna Duncan at lead.

This competition will mark 20-year-old Chelsea Duncan's last chance to wear the junior crown.

Koltun said her rink will approach the territorial playdowns with a professional mentality.

"We'll have a schedule for when we go to sleep, when we eat, when we're going there, when our warm-up is, stuff like that,鈥� she said.

As for representing the Yukon for six-straight years at the national stage, Koltun said it is always a great honour.

"I feel very privileged to go as many times as we have,鈥� she admitted. "Just getting to go there and show the rest of Canada that we're not just a pushover team 鈥� that we can curl and we can compete with them, I think it's really good. I really enjoy it still.鈥�

If the team makes it seven straight this year, they will set a new record in the Yukon history books.

"We're definitely going to have to fight for it,鈥� she said. "Hopefully our experience shows and we can come out on top again.鈥�

Head coach Lindsay Moldowan said her rink will be ready to go against Team Horte.

"We look at them as a very strong team,鈥� she said. "We take them very seriously.

They're the team we need to beat to meet our goal.鈥�

Team Horte has curled together for the past five seasons.

The team is made up of skip Bailey Horte, third Kelsey Meger, second Kelly Mahoney and lead Sian Malloy. The rink won a silver medal at the Arctic Winter Games in Whitehorse earlier this year.

Sixteen-year-old Bailey Horte said she is competing to win, "but, because we don't have a lot of teams up here, we want to get as much experience as possible. It's always an experience kind of thing, moreso.鈥�

Coach Rhonda Horte said her team is looking forward to curling on a different ice surface in Teslin.

"We are looking forward to the opportunity to experience the hospitality that Yukon communities always have to offer,鈥� she said. "I'm thrilled that a community has offered to host our playdowns.鈥�

Horte said her team competes better on the road.

"The entire weekend will be focused around the team, which makes them a stronger unit,鈥� she said. "We'll set individual and team goals, stay positive and focused, one rock at a time 鈥� and we'll see what happens.鈥�

In 2007, both Scoffin and Koltun set records as the youngest skips in history to compete at nationals. Scoffin was 12, Koltun just 13. They finished with identical 1-11 records that year in St. Catharines, Ont.

The following year in Sault Ste Marie, Koltun was 0-12, while Scoffin finished 3-9.

Then at Salmon Arm, B.C., in 2009, Koltun's record jumped to 5-7, while Scoffin remained at 3-9.

The two skips finished 3-9 and 5-7 respectively in 2010, in Sorel-Tracy, Que.

Koltun's best national performance came in 2011, when she finished 6-6 in Calgary. Scoffin's record was again 5-7. In Napanee, Ont., last February, Scoffin ended his Yukon junior career with his best finish 鈥� 7-5, while Koltun was 4-8.

Yukon Curling Association executive director Linden Mattie said that while the plan is to go ahead with the playdowns in Teslin, there is some concern that potential weather issues could force the tournament to take place in Whitehorse.

If the playdowns do indeed go ahead in Teslin, this weekend's draw times are scheduled for 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Saturday, and Sunday at 10 a.m. (if necessary).