Cold draw beats Sasky in final

With files from Curling Canada

In a season where multiple major championships are being hosted in Nova Scotia, the province scored a national title for themselves.

Owen Purcell’s Halifax outfit—with Christina Black, Adam McEachern and Jennifer Baxter— defeated the top seeds in Saturday’s championship final of the Canadian Mixed at St. Catharines, Ont.

It all came down to a draw to the eight-foot for a 5-4 win over Saskatchewan’s Jason Ackerman and a national title.

As it turns out, a national title was what this team was built for. Literally.

“Last year, when we decided to play mixed, we wanted to put a team together that could win the national championship,” said Baxter.

The Scotians dispatched Manitoba’s Ryan Wiebe in the semifinal after entering the playoff round with a 9-1 mark; the same won/loss record as their finals opponent.

Saskatchewan was ranked No. 1 by virtue of the head-to-head results.

“We joked about it during the game that we were both the mixed juggernauts, and we had our eyes set on them all week,” said Purcell. “We knew it was going to be a battle. We had to work really hard to wrestle the hammer from them early in the game, which we were able to do.”

Nova Scotia stole the opening end and after trading singles, it was another steal in the fourth that put the Bluenosers up 3-1 at the break.

Saskatchewan—Ackerman, Amber Holland, Sam Wills and Collen Ackerman—tied the game in the seventh end after being forced to a single, leaving Nova Scotia with the hammer coming home.

“Owen has made a lot of big shots in a lot of big games,” said Baxter. “He’s no stranger to this. However, on that last shot both of his hands were shaking.”

Shakes or not, the throw was on the money, coming to rest in the back of the four-foot circle.

There is no 2025 world mixed championship due to a packed 2026 Olympic qualifying schedule.

In the bronze medal match, Alberta’s Kurt Balderston defeated Manitoba 9-4.

Wiebe’s crew ended up 7-2 while B.C.’s Cody Tanaka and Quebec’s Don Bowser wound up at 5-5.

The win marked Nova Scotia’s eighth mixed crown since 1993, but first since 2010’s win by Mark Dacey, Heather Smith, Andrew Gibson and Jill Mouzar.

Saskatchewan (skip Shaun Meachem) were the defending champions.

Three different Quebec teams managed to win three recent titles in a row, all between 2020 and 2022.