GUELPH, Ont. — The Wilfrid Laurier men’s curling team couldn’t have gotten a crazier morning.
After skip Aaron Squires became ill and couldn’t play in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) semifinal, the Hawks had to shift around their roster to take on the Carleton Ravens.
But with an experienced group of five players, the Hawks were able to move Richard Krell into the skipping position with ease — and it paid off.
“I skipped a men’s team all year, so it made it easier,” Krell said. “It’s obviously tough situation, but we have five very capable curlers on this team so I think no matter what lineup you throw, you’re going to get a pretty good result.”
The Hawks had no problem Monday morning as they cruised to an 8-1 victory against the Ravens to advance to the OUA final and claim a berth at the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) championships in Regina, Saskatchewan.
“It feels pretty good,” Krell said. “It’s nice to know that we’re going to be going to CIS, but the goal was to make it to the final. We want to win.”
Laurier and Carleton started out close, as they blanked the first end. In the second, Laurier picked up two before stealing a single in the third end.
However, it wasn’t until the fourth end that things were wide open. On their skip’s shot, he hit a guard and rolled out to give Laurier a steal of four and a commanding 7-0 lead.
In the fifth, Carleton picked up a single, but Krell hit an easy draw in the house to seal the victory for Laurier.
“I think we knew that we’re just peeling, so we just said ‘one shot at a time, focus and let’s shut this one out,” Krell said.
Now, Laurier waits the winner of the Brock Badgers and Toronto Varsity Blues to see who they will meet.
And what’s the plan for Laurier when the 1 p.m. final begins?
“Win the final,” Krell smiled.
