News - Nouvelles

Latest Team Hemmings News

13-03-09 - As The Dust Settles
23-02-09 - Stoughton Wins Manitoba To Complete Brier Field
18-02-09 - Larouche Set For Scotties Run
17-02-09 - Calgary Brier Promises Strong Field
16-02-09 - Team Hemmings Loses Quebec Semi-Final to Ménard

As The Dust Settles

13/03/09 • (0) Comments •Permalink

Team Hemmings, the 2008-09 edition, is no longer. The team has officially disbanded after alternate François Roberge and lead Maxime Elmaleh were recruited away from Hemmings by rival skip Martin Ferland.

With Guy Hemmings being the chairperson for next year’s Canadian Junior Championships in Sorel and also having commentating responsibilities at the 2010 Winter Olympics with RDS, there left little time for Hemmings to commit to a heavy curling schedule in the coming season. Meanwhile, Ferland was in need of players as his front end of Berthelot and Cantin decided to move on leaving him prepared to take advantage of Roberge’s desire to return full time to competitive curling next season.

Ferland further poached the Hemmings team after his third, Philippe Lemay, indicated he would be taking the year off. This time, second Shawn Fowler was lured away to play second leaving Ferland with three of Hemmings’ players from his 2008-09 roster.

With Jean-Michel Ménard returning from the Brier this weekend, it will be interesting to see if there are further movements among teams as many teams remain incomplete. It will be of interest to see when the dust settles where veteran players such as Robert Desjardins, Dwayne Fowler, Jean-Sebastien Roy, Maurice Cayouette, Simon Dupuis and others end up as the new season begins this fall.

As is the case in most seasons, Quebec teams are once again shuffling their decks to find that magic combination that will work. Perhaps it’s time that Quebec teams looked around to see what seems to be working for the top teams in the country… a team that stays together for multiple seasons.

Adieu to Team Hemmings, it was fun while it lasted.

Stoughton Wins Manitoba To Complete Brier Field

23/02/09 • (0) Comments •Permalink

The Brier field got even stronger on Sunday as Jeff Stoughton defeated Kerry Burtnyk to take the Manitoba Men’s Championship and complete the 2009 Tim Hortons Brier field.

Stoughton needed a single in the tenth to claim the 7-6 victory featuring the top two seeds after Burtnyk tied the game by taking a deuce in the ninth.

The Manitoba champions qualified for the playoffs after having won the A Event, then defeated Reid Carruthers in the Page 1-2 game and ultimately met Burtnyk in Sunday’s final after Burtnyk defeated Mike McEwen in the Page 3-4 game and Carruthers in the semi-final. Stoughton went undefeated in winning the Manitoba crown and will now advance to the Tim Hortons Brier in Calgary, March 7-15.

2009 Tim Hortons Brier Field

Kevin Martin - ALBERTA
Sean Geall - BRITISH COLUMBIA
Jeff Stoughton - MANITOBA
Russ Howard - NEW BRUNSWICK
Brad Gushue - NFLD/LABRADOR
Mike Jakubo - NORTHERN ONTARIO
Mark Dacey - NOVA SCOTIA
Glenn Howard - ONTARIO
Rod MacDonald - PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND
Jean-Michel Ménard - QUEBEC
Joel Jordison - SASKATCHEWAN
Jamie Koe - YUKON/NWT

Larouche Set For Scotties Run

18/02/09 • (0) Comments •Permalink

The Scotties Tournament of Hearts starts Sunday February 21 in Victoria BC with Quebec’s Marie-France Larouche facing New Brunswick’s Andrea Kelly in the first draw at 12PM (3PM Eastern) and with the year that Larouche has had, she will certainly be one of the favourites to make a run at the title.

Larouche was dominant in the Quebec Provincial Championship following a season in which the team won 5 bonspiels including the AMJ Campbell Shorty Jenkins Classic (Brockville ON), La Coupe Quebec (Quebec QC), The Sun Life Financial Invitational (Brantford ON), The Sobey’s Slam (New Glasgow NS) and the Canada Cup Qualification (Ottawa ON).

Larouche and her teammates, Nancy Belanger, Annie Lemay and Joelle Sabourin, posted a record of 48-9 over the course of 6 bonspiels and the Quebec Provincial Championship. Dominant may be an understatement to describe their season.

Playing in her sixth Scotties and coming off a 2008 Scotties where she finished fourth, the time may be now for Larouche with her team playing with such consistency. To read more about Team Larouche, visit the Team Larouche website.

Calgary Brier Promises Strong Field

17/02/09 • (0) Comments •Permalink

The field for the Tim Hortons Brier in Calgary promises to be a strong one with a number of top teams already qualifying.

With Glenn Howard, Brad Gushue and Joel Jordison having already qualified before this past weekend, the field got even stronger as eight (8) more provincial champions were crowned over the weekend.

Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, PEI, Northern Ontario, Yukon/NWT, Alberta and British Columbia provincial winners were declared to bring the number of qualified teams to eleven of the twelve team championship. Only Manitoba has yet to qualify their provincial champion.

Teams Qualified as of February 16, 2009 :

Kevin Martin - ALBERTA
Sean Geall - BRITISH COLUMBIA
Russ Howard - NEW BRUNSWICK
Brad Gushue - NFLD/LABRADOR
Mike Jakubo - NORTHERN ONTARIO
Mark Dacey - NOVA SCOTIA
Glenn Howard - ONTARIO
Rod MacDonald - PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND
Jean-Michel Ménard - QUEBEC
Joel Jordison - SASKATCHEWAN
Jamie Koe - YUKON/NWT

Team Hemmings Loses Quebec Semi-Final to Ménard

16/02/09 • (0) Comments •Permalink

It was a bitter pill to swallow for Team Hemmings on Sunday morning as they saw their Brier hopes dashed after losing 8-3 to Jean-Michel Ménard in their semi-final match at the Quebec Provincial Championship.

Although the scoreboard showed an 8-3 score after nine ends, the result could have been much different. Ménard led 5-3 after seven ends and with Hemmings looking like he would score 2 or 3 in eight, Ménard made an across the house double to lie one buried. After Hemmings came up short on a tap of a top eight stone, Ménard made yet another hit and roll to lie two forcing Hemmings to make a four-foot draw to score a single to keep the game close, 5-4. However, Hemmings difficult draw attempt came short leaving Ménard with a steal of two and a 7-3 lead after 8.

The ninth end left Hemmings with no chance of a deuce and after rolling out on an attempted double takeout, the Hemmings squad took off their gloves to shake hands with Ménard conceding defeat.

Ménard would eventually go on to beat Martin Ferland in the final and will now represent Quebec at the Tim Hortons Brier in Calgary, March 7-15 where he will face stiff competition including Kevin Martin (AB), Glenn Howard (ONT), Brad Gushue (NFLD) and Russ Howard (NB). Team Hemmings congratulates Team Ménard and wishes his team the best of luck at the Brier.

TEAM HEMMINGS Semi-Final Results

View All TEAM HEMMINGS Provincial Championship Results

Meanwhile, Team Hemmings record for the week was 10-2, having lost to only one team, Jean-Michel Ménard once in round-robin and finally in Sunday’s semi-final. After posting a season record of 52-22 over 74 games, the team came one game short of reaching the provincial final. A huge disappointment to say the least but with only one season as a unit, the team can certainly claim to have had success despite not reaching their goal of a trip to the Brier.

What lies ahead for Team Hemmings? Stay tuned.

Team Hemmings To Meet Ménard in Quebec Semi-Final

14/02/09 • (0) Comments •Permalink

Team Hemmings has advanced to the Quebec Provincial Championship semi-final after a one-sided victory in the Quarter-final versus Serge Reid 8-1 Saturday evening at Aréna Salaberry in Valleyfield QC.

Hemmings advanced to the semi-final Saturday afternoon when he needed extra ends to defeat Martin Roy 10-8.

Hemmings finished the round robin portion of the championship with an 8-1 record, tied with Jean-Michel Ménard but with Ménard’s victory over Hemmings in the round robin Ménard was awarded first place and a spot in the all-important Page 1-2 game versus Martin Ferland.

Team Hemmings faced Reid for the second time this week after needing a steal in the tenth to defeat him in round robin play. In the semi-final however Reid’s fortunes were not to repeat themselves as Hemmings scored three in the second end to jump out front 3-0. After Reid made a run back in the third for a single point, Hemmings played hero in the fourth making a dramatic takeout through a staggered port to score three and take a commanding 6-1 lead.

Once again in the fourth, Reid faced four stones on his last rock with no chance of counting and elected to eliminate as many Hemmings stones as possible and when the dust settled, Hemmings came away with a steal of one and a 7-1 lead. Reid blanked the sixth and found himself facing three Hemmings counters and needed to draw four foot with only half of the four exposed but over curled leaving Hemmings with another steal of one and an 8-1 lead after seven ends. With the 7 point deficit, Reid conceded the match leaving Hemmings with a semi-final engagement with Jean-Michel Ménard.

The semi-final match gives Team Hemmings an opportunity for some revenge after having lost to Ménard 5-3 in round-robin play. The semi-final is set for 9AM Sunday with the final set for 2PM on Sunday afternoon.

TEAM HEMMINGS Playoff versus Martin Roy

TEAM HEMMINGS Quarter-Final versus Serge Reid

View All TEAM HEMMINGS Provincial Championship Results

Hemmings Only Unbeaten Team Remaining

12/02/09 • (0) Comments •Permalink

Team Hemmings is the only team remaining without a defeat at the 2009 Quebec Men’s Curling Championship going into Thursday night’s action at Aréna de Salaberry in Valleyfield QC.

Hemmings and Jean-Michel Ménard were the only two unbeaten teams heading into Thursday’s games and while Hemmings was able to down Denis Laflamme (3-4) by a score of 7-5, Ménard suffered his first defeat at the hands of Serge Reid (4-3) who needed the victory to keep his playoff hopes alive.

Hemmings never trailed in his match but still needed a deuce in the seventh end to give him a 5-3 lead and some breathing room with three ends to play. After stealing a single point in the eighth, Hemmings 6-3 advantage was too much for Laflamme to overcome despite a heroic deuce in the ninth that pulled him to within one. Laflamme didn’t make it easy for Hemmings as the popular skip had to draw the four foot in the tenth for his single point and to secure victory.

Hemmings is now alone on top of Section A standings at 7-0 but will have his hands full Thursday evening when he plays reigning Quebec Champion Jean-Michel Ménard (6-1). The winner of that match will be the Section A leader going into the final draw on Friday. If Hemmings is victorious, his 8-0 record will be enough to claim top spot in the section despite what happens in Friday’s final draw, whereas if Ménard wins, he will take over top spot with a 7-1 mark leaving Hemmings in second , also at 7-1. Given both teams would be at 7-1, Ménard would be the leader due to his victory over Hemmings.

So tonight’s game is big for both teams and it will surely gather a lot of attention from the arena crowd.

TEAM HEMMINGS Game 7 Results

View All TEAM HEMMINGS Provincial Championship Results

Hemmings Pulls Victory From Hands of Defeat - Part II

12/02/09 • (0) Comments •Permalink

Day 3 at the Quebec Men’s Provincial Championship was a stressful one for fans of Team Hemmings. After taking three in the tenth end to win in the afternoon draw against Robert Desjardins, Hemmings found himself needing a steal in the tenth in the evening draw against Serge Reid.

Hemmings didn’t disappoint, making a perfect shot with his last stone forcing Reid to chip Hemmings’ counter without jamming it onto one of his own stones in the back of the rings. With Reid seeing half of Hemmings’ stone and needing to hit no more than a third, adrenaline got the better of Reid as he threw it wide and heavy, missing the Hemmings stone completely and giving the steal of one to Hemmings.

The win was an important one for Team Hemmings as they kept pace with Jean-Michel Ménard each with a perfect record of 6-0. With the loss, Reid dropped to 3-3 seeing his playoff chances reduced with 3 games remaining.

Hemmings’ destiny will likely be in his hands when he plays Jean-Michel Ménard Thursday evening in their eighth game of the nine game round robin. The winner of that game will likely win the section and advance to the Page 1-2 Playoff game. However, before that, Hemmings plays Denis Laflamme in the afternoon draw where he looks to keep his perfect record in tact.

TEAM HEMMINGS Game 6 Results

View all TEAM HEMMINGS Provincial Championship Results

Hemmings Pulls Victory From Hands of Defeat

11/02/09 • (0) Comments •Permalink

Guy Hemmings was one rock away from losing his first game at the 2009 Quebec Provincial Championship on Wednesday afternoon but swiped victory from the hands of defeat.

Hemmings faced Robert Desjardins in his fifth game of the week and was down 7-5 playing the tenth end with last rock. With only four stones apiece remaining, Hemmings’ third Dwayne Fowler played a perfect freeze to a rock in the back four foot and another draw to the outside eight foot corner to corner with a Hemmings guard. Desjardins was facing giving up a deuce to tie the game and elected to play the nose hit on the rock Fowler had drawn to the eight foot.

With Hemmings’ first stone, he elected to freeze on the Desjardins stone just played and although his line was perfect he tapped the stone back slightly giving Desjardins the chance to pick it leaving Hemmings with a draw for two. However, Desjardins’ takeout sailed wide leaving Hemmings first and third shot with his shot stone frozen to a Desjardins stone in the four foot. With 30 seconds remaining on Hemmings’ time clock he delivered a perfect hit on his stone in the four foot to lay three and walk away with an 8-7 victory.

The win allows Hemmings to keep pace with Jean-Michel Ménard (5-0) who defeated Christian Crête (1-4) also in the afternoon draw. Hemmings and Ménard gave themselves some distance from the rest of the teams in their section as the closest teams to them are 3-2 including Desjardins, Daniel Bédard and Serge Reid.

Hemmings now faces Serge Reid in Wednesdays’ evening draw while Menard is up against Robert Desjardins.

TEAM HEMMINGS Game 5 Results

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Hemmings and Ménard Unbeaten After Day Two

10/02/09 • (0) Comments •Permalink

Guy Hemmings and Jean-Michel Ménard remained the only unbeaten teams in Section A after two complete days at the Quebec Men’s Curling Championship. Hemmings disposed of Daniel Bédard 9-4 in their afternoon draw while Ménard was an 8-4 winner over Marc-André Chartrand.

Despite starting the game with the hammer, Bédard gave up steals of single points to Hemmings in each of the first two ends before scoring a deuce in the third to even the game at 2-2. Deuces were wild in this game as the teams exchanged them in each of the third through sixth ends with Hemmings leading 6-4 with four ends to play.

The turning point came in the eighth end when Bédard, facing two Hemmings counters in the twelve foot, came up heavy on his draw to give up a steal of two and found himself down 8-4 with two ends to play. Hemmings continued to force play in the ninth and Bédard was faced with a difficult double to score but still gave up a steal of a single point. Trailing 9-4, Bédard conceded the match.

Hemmings improved his record to 4-0 while Bédard fell to 2-2. On Wednesday, Hemmings faces two tough opponents from the Saguenay region, Robert Desjardins (3-1) and Serge Reid (3-1).

Meanwhile, in Section B, Martin Ferland is the only remaining unbeaten team at 4-0 followed by François Gagné and Pierre Charette at 3-1.

TEAM HEMMINGS Game 4 Results