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CANADIAN MIXED
CURLING CHAMPIONS
Bernie Yuzdepski, Marnie McNiven, Roy Uchman and Joan Bjerke agreed
to play together on a team at the Nutana Curling Club in the 1978
Saskatoon mixed curling playoffs. Their first game together was the
first night of the Saskatoon playoffs. Twenty-one games later, they
were the 1978 Canadian mixed curling champions.
The Yuzdepski team went through the
Saskatoon playoffs with seven straight wins and then beat Sam
Richardson of Regina in the provincial final. That gave them a berth
in the national playoffs, which were scheduled on their own Nutana
home ice.
Midway through the Canadian round-robin
tournament, the Saskatoon team was on an undefeated roll, including
important victories over Northern Ontario's Roy Lund and Prince
Edward Island’s Bobby Dillon.
Saskatchewan upped its record to 8 and 0
with only three draws remaining. They faced Karl Murovic of Quebec
in the ninth round, an afternoon draw on the second last day. They
fell behind 3-1 in the early going, were still trailing after the
seventh but went ahead on the eighth end and won, 6-5. It was the
game that nailed down the Canadian championship.
They later beat Richard Belyea of New
Brunswick, 7-4, for a 22nd consecutive playoff victory and had their
streak snapped in a surprise loss, 8-2, to the Roy Giles team from
Northwest Territories on the meaningless last draw.
Bernie was voted
all-star skip during the tournament.
Bernie Yuzdepski skip), Marnie McNiven (third), Roy Uchman (second),
Joan Bjerke (lead) |