United for five successful years, the members of Jocelyn Peterman’s Red Deer junior women’s curling team have gone their separate ways.
Three players from the 2012 Canadian championship squad are currently competing in the $39,000 Red Deer Curling Classic at the Pidherney Centre. Peterman is tossing second stones for Heather Nedohin’s Edmonton squad, Brittany Tran is playing lead for Casey Scheidegger of Lethbridge and Rebecca Konschuh holds down the lead position with Crystal Webster out of Calgary.
The fourth player with the heralded junior foursome, Kristine Anderson, has temporarily stepped away from the game to focus on her work career.
“The three of us got some good opportunities with some pretty elite women’s teams, so we figured it would be a good learning experience for us to play with these great women’s curlers,” Tran said Friday, explaining the break-up after a 5-4 loss to Tanilla Doyle of Calgary in opening-draw action.
Tran, 21, hooked up with Scheidegger’s team, which also consists of third Cary-Anne McTaggart and second Jessie Scheidegger, during the off season.
“I played against Casey and Jessie in juniors a few times and I saw Jessie quite a bit,” said the Red Deer native. “They heard I was looking for a team and called me up. I thought it was a great opportunity because they’re a good team.”
A third-year environmental science student at the University of Calgary, Tran was Peterman’s third during the glory years but has easily adjusted to her new position.
“I played mainly third for 10 years, but in fun ‘spiels we’d switch it up sometimes,” she said. “I enjoy playing lead, it’s kind of nice to play a different position and get a different feel for the game.”
The Peterman foursome fell just short in their quest for a second trip to the Canadian junior championship over the two years following their 2012 provincial and national conquests and ensuing appearance in the worlds.
The Red Deer quartet posted a 6-3 round-robin record and then fell 11-10 to Russian in a tie-breaker in the global event in Sweden.
Still, one Canadian championship is one more than 99.9 per cent of junior teams will experience. Therefore, Tran has no regrets.
“It would have been nice to get back (to the Canadian/world finals), but it was a great journey,” she said. “I love the girls and we’re still all friends.
We had some amazing experiences, not just at worlds but other international and national events, including the Canada Winter Games.
“I don’t regret any of that.”
The junior squad was successful because they never took the game too seriously, Tran suggested.
“All of us had so much fun together, we were best friends on and off the ice. I think that helped a lot — that we just had fun when we were playing,” she said.
Those days are over and Tran is now focusing on helping her new teammates climb the ladder of success. The foursome is competing in its fifth World Curling Tour event this weekend in Red Deer and has earned $7,125 to date — including $4,500 for taking top honours in the Medicine Hat Charity Classic.
“I definitely feel this team has a lot of potential,” said Tran. “We’re playing against a lot of the top Alberta teams here and I think we have a very good shot this weekend.”
Rinks skipped by Webster, Trish Paulsen, Hannah Fleming, Leslie Rogers, Nadine Chyz and Michelle Englot each won twice Friday. Former Canadian champion Rachel Homan of Ottawa earned a first-round bye and was 1-0, as were Jill Thurston and Alina Paetz of Switzerland.
• Dustin Eckstrand’s Red Deer foursome posted a 2-0 record on opening day of the men’s division, joining Wade White, Josh Heidt, Brendan Bottcher, Brady Clark, Grant Dezura, Sean O’Connor and Mick Lizmore with the same mark.
Lowell Peterman and Harvey Kelts, also of Red Deer, were 1-1 Friday.
The Red Deer Curling Classic resumed this morning and concludes Monday with both finals slated for 3:30 p.m.
Scores Friday
Women
9:30 a.m. (A event) — Trish Paulsen 7 Shannon Kleibrink 6; Kelly Scott 7 Jodi Marthaller 2; Diane Gushaluk 6 Kristie Moore 2; Chelsey Carey 7 Norma Brown 2; Tanilla Doyle 5 Casey Scheidegger; Hannah Fleming 6 Tiffany Game 2.
1 p.m. (A event) — Michelle Englet 8 Brenda Doroshuk 2; Leslie Rogers 6 Mari Motohashi 4; Nadine Chyz 6 Brett Barber 5; Dailene Silvertson 8 Delia DeJong 7; Crystal Webster 7 Teryn Hamilton 4; Suji Kim 7 Susan O’Connor 5.
4:30 p.m. (A event) — Fleming 10 Carey 2; Rachel Homan 5 Doyle 3; Paulsen 5 Kelly Scott 3; Jill Thurston 6 Gushulak 4.
4:30 p.m. (B event) — Brown 8 Game 1; Kleibrink 6 Marthaller 1.
8 p.m. (A event) — Paetz 8 Rogers 2; Webster 6 Nedohin 5; Englot 7 Sivertson 4; Chyz 6 Kim 5
8 p.m. (B event) — O’Connor 9 Barber 4; DeJong 6 Doroshuk 0.
Men
9:30 a.m. (A event) — Warren Cross 6 Sean Geall 5; Kevin Marsh 5 Matt Willerton 4; Wade White 5 Jason Ackerman 3; Josh Heidt 7 Chris Baier 2; Aaron Sluchinksi 9 Bill Merklinger 4; Brock Virtue 6 Alexey Tselouson 3; Dustin Eckstrand 5 Mark Johnson 4; Brendan Bottcher 5 Harvey Kelts 3.
1 p.m. (A event) — Sean O’Connor 9 John Stroh 0; Grant Dezura 10 Dave Manser 3; Brady Clark 6 Lowell Peterman 4; Marc Pfister 11 Rob Johnson 3; Jaime King 7 Thomas Usselman 6; Scott Manners 11 Rob Schlender 7; Mick Lizmore 7 Seung Min Kim 6; Drew Heidt 5 Mario Freiberger 4.
4:30 p.m. (A event) — Bottcher 5 Marsh 2; Eckstrand 5 Sluchinski 4; White 6 Cross 4; J. Heidt 7 Virtue 6.
4:30 p.m. (B event) — M. Johnson 6 Merklinger 3; Kelts 5 Willerton 4; Geall 6 Ackerman 5; Tselouson 11 Baier 4.
8 p.m. (A event) — Lizmore 8 D. Heidt 3; Clark 6 King 3; O’Connor 6 Pfister 1; Dezura 5 Manners 2.
8 p.m. (B event) — Schlender 5 Manser 2; Kim 8 Freiberger 5; Stroh 6 R. Johnson 5; Peterman 7 Usselman 4.
gmeachem@www.reddeeradvocate.com