Patricia Yeske of Moose Jaw captured the Dominion women's provincial club curling championship title in Humboldt on March 21, defeating Brenda Goertzen 4-3 in the final game.
Yeske set the tone early in the final with a steal of two in the first end, and added singles in three and six.
Goertzen, representing the Saskatoon Granite Curling Club, responded with one in the fourth end, then stole one in five. She pulled to within one with a single in seven, but Yeske ran her out of rocks in the eighth after Goertzen missed her final shot.
"I was getting pretty emotional at that point, so I probably would have just thrown it into the boards anyway," Yeske said. "It's tough to throw straight with tears in your eyes."
The Dominion Men's and Women's provincial curling championships were held March 17-21 at the Humboldt Curling Club. Thirteen teams took part in both the men's and women's draws. Both draws featured one pool of six teams and another of seven.
Joining Yeske on the winner's podium were teammates Danielle Sicinski (third), Pamela Clothier (second), and Leslie Glova (lead). The emotions they displayed in winning the title were certainly understandable, especially since they had lost last year's Dominion final.
"It was nice to get another chance," Yeske said. "My teammates played very consistently all weekend. They all wanted to win so badly. But there was some pretty hot competition this year. It was an even stronger field of teams than last year."
Yeske, who curls out of the Hillcrest Curling Club, earned her spot in the women's final by finishing first in the women's pool "A" with a 5-1 record. She defeated Sharleen Gilmour of Kindersley 8-5 in the crossover semi-final on March 20, scoring a three-ender in the third and a pair in the sixth.
Still, it took a clutch draw to the four-foot in the final frame of that game to win it, as Gilmour was sitting four in the house.
Goertzen followed a similar path to the final in pool "B," going undefeated with a 5-0 record in round robin play. She hammered pool "A" runner-up Deanne Miller-Jones 9-2 in their semi-final match, sealing the victory with a four-ender in the seventh.
Yeske noted that first-end steal of two in the final was likely the game's turning point, as it was the only multiple-point end.
"We were able to draw in with one and then put up a good guard," she explained. "Unfortunately for Brenda, she was light on her draw. That gave us the steal.
"I think that was really huge for us, because that gave us a lot of confidence and momentum going forward."
In men's competition, a two-ender on the sixth proved the difference for Brad Bibby of Prince Albert, as he captured the Dominion title with a 5-3 win over Glen Krikau of the Saskatoon Granite.
The men's final also took place on March 21 in Humboldt.
After Krikau blanked the opening end, Bibby and his teammates Steve Thevenot (third), Ian Schindler (second), and Dave Schmirler (lead) drew first blood with a steal of one in the second.
The teams traded singles in each of the remaining ends, save for Bibby's deuce in the sixth.
Krikau was the top men's team in round robin play, going undefeated in pool "B" with a 5-0 mark. He beat pool "A" runner-up Jim Nikolejsin of Weyburn 6-5 in their March 20 semi-final.
Bibby tied with Nikolejsin at 4-2 for top spot in the pool "A" standings, but he was given first place by virtue of his victory over Nikolesjin in round robin play. Bibby dismantled Ken Bakken of Balgonie in their semi-final, scoring a five-ender in the third en route to an easy 9-3 win.
Both teams will now have a very long layoff before having an opportunity to compete in the Dominion national club curling championships. Nationals take place Nov. 21-22 in Richmond, B.C.
