1978 Bernie Yuzdepski Team

Team (1996)

Curling

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)