Carman Collegiate’s girls curling team lost just one game on the way to capturing the 2000 Zone 4 title.
The team first defeated Miami to advance to the A side, but the Marlins battled back through the B side for a rematch. After an extra-end win for Miami, a second game was required—as tournament rules dictate a team must be beaten twice. In the rematch, Carman came out on top to clinch the championship.
The original lineup featured Danine McCutcheon, Sam Owen, Trisha Russell and Katie Armstrong. However, Katie was sidelined with a knee injury for the finals, and Karen Hodgson stepped in. By the time Katie recovered, Sam had joined a Winnipeg-based team, leading to a new provincial lineup of Danine, Karen, Trisha and Katie for the junior women’s provincials.
Despite being ranked 10th at the event in Portage la Prairie, Team McCutcheon finished first in their pool with a 6–1 record. Their provincial run ended with an 8–6 playoff loss to Selkirk.
Danine McCutcheon recalled: “I remember winning, and I loved playing with the girls. Coming in first in our pool was surprising but rewarding. We had no pressure on us. It’s funny—I never curled after high school, but I couldn’t imagine playing without my best friends.”
Karen Hodgson said: “We really surprised ourselves! We just went out there, curled our best and had fun. No one expected anything of us.”
Katie Armstrong added: “We knew a lot of the teams were from the city, but we found we could play with them. It was amazing! After winning our first game, we were really pumped and decided, let’s go for it.”
Trisha Russell recalled: “Our provincial run was such an amazing experience. We went in as underdogs and really made a great push. What made it even better was that we were all such good friends off the ice, which gave us great chemistry on the ice. We just had fun!”
