THE HOG LINE: Freeman’s dream season continues with U18 provincial title

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This article was published 04/01/2023 (623 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Jace Freeman had some high expectations of what he thought his rinks could accomplish entering the 2022-23 curling season.

The Virden product admits that what he and his teammates have done has already exceeded those goals.

Freeman’s under-18 squad, which includes third Elias Huminicki, second Jack Steski, lead Rylan Graham and coach Graham Freeman, won the provincial U18 men’s title on New Year’s Eve in Altona with a 6-5 extra end triumph over Ronan Peterson of the Heather Curling Club.

By reaching the final, Freeman earned one of two berths that were up for grabs at the provincials for the U18 nationals in Timmins, Ont., from Feb. 5 to 11.

It was the second major triumph for the rink. They won a Canada Winter Games provincial qualifier in October and will represent Manitoba in Summerside P.E.I., from Feb. 28 to March 5.

In addition to that success, Freeman’s also enjoyed a strong season on the under-21 circuit with third Thomas McGillivray, second Ryan Ostrowsky and lead Aaron Macdonell.

They’ve picked up event wins at Manitoba Junior Curling Tour stops in Petersfield and Selkirk, reached the final at four other MJCT events and nabbed a spot at the 2023 Viterra Championship during a regional qualifier in Rivers last month.

“This has been an unreal year,” Freeman said. “I think we all thought that we could be one of the top seeds for the juniors and U18 provincials, but I don’t think we’ve been expecting all of this.

“For our U18 team to go 13-1 at two provincials and win the Buffalo is pretty amazing, especially when you consider how much we’ve actually played together.”

As was the case leading into the Canada Winter Games qualifier, Freeman and his U18 teammates didn’t play a whole lot in the lead-up to the provincials as they all play for separate junior rinks.

They went 5-1 in round-robin play – their lone loss came in a 7-6 extra-end affair to Colton Olafson’s Portage la Prairie rink – and earned a bye to the final, which officially gave them a spot at the nationals.

“We couldn’t find our game early on, but we ended up clicking when it mattered the most,” Freeman said. “It felt pretty similar to how we played at the Canada Winter Games playdowns, though it definitely wasn’t smooth sailing in our first three games.”

In the championship contest against Peterson, the Freeman rink raced out to a 4-1 lead at the game’s halfway point, largely thanks to a steal of two in the fourth end.

Peterson would claw his way back by scoring a pair of points in the sixth and eighth ends to force an extra frame, but Freeman controlled things in the ninth as a stone that Graham threw proved to be the winning point.

“I have to give Ronan and his team credit,” Freeman said. “They played the last three ends really well and he made one of the best shots of the event (a quiet tap back to score two points in the eighth) to tie it up.

“Even though we both knew we were going to the nationals, we both wanted to get that provincial title and it was a fun game for us to be a part of.”

Freeman said he gained some extra confidence going into the event with his showing at the Viterra west regional qualifier two weeks earlier in Rivers.

He and his junior rink nabbed their spot in the provincial men’s playdowns by defeating his dad and coach Graham in a 7-6 extra-end affair.

“I hadn’t played my dad’s rink before, but I’ve obviously played with them lots over the years, so the urge to win that game was pretty high,” Freeman said.

“We were pretty excited to be in an event like that, to begin with. We had planned on competing in some more men’s bonspiels this season, but it didn’t work out that way with how busy our junior schedule was.”

While his U21 rink is going to Neepawa for the Viterra Championship next month, Freeman won’t be at the Yellowhead Centre as the competition runs at the same time as the U18 nationals.

His replacement for the Viterra has yet to be announced.

Before that, Freeman’s junior squad will be at the provincial playdowns in Portage la Prairie from Jan. 17 to 21, where two spots at this spring’s nationals in Rouyn-Noranda, Que., will be up for grabs.

“If we stay loose like we have at the MJCT events and don’t put too much pressure on ourselves, I think we’ll be fine,” Freeman said.

“We know every team that’s going to be there, but we just have to keep playing like we have been. We’re pretty comfortable with each other and I don’t think we’re going to get too worked up over what’s going to be one the line during that weekend.”

EXTRA ENDS: Brandon’s Rylan Campbell was the third for Luke Robins’ West St. Paul rink at the U18 provincials. They finished in sixth place with a 2-4 mark … In the women’s competition, Altona’s Dayna Wahl earned a 5-3 win over Grace Beaudry’s St. Vital rink, which features Onanole’s Cassidy Dundas at third and McCreary’s Tessa Terrick at lead. Both squads have qualified for the U18 nationals in Timmins … Shayna Benson’s rink from Dauphin recorded a 3-1 mark in Pool B play but missed out on the playoffs as a result of their showing in the pre-game draw to the button tiebreaker.