Northern Ontario splits on first day of wheelchair championship

Team Northern Ontario had an up-and-down opening day Monday at the Canadian Wheelchair Curling Championship.

The Thunder Bay foursome, skipped by Carl Levesque, romped to an easy 12-1 win over Newfoundland and Labrador in their first game at the Fort William Curling Club, but were unable to match their effort in the evening draw, falling 10-2 at the hands of their neighbours from Manitoba.

Northern Ontario, a team that includes lead Sharon LaFroye, second Mel Prairie and third Rick Bell, had little to worry about in Game 1, scoring three in the first with the hammer, then stealing three in the second and two more in the third for an early 8-0 lead.

Newfoundland skip Joanne MacDonald got one back in the fourth, but Levesque responded with two in the fifth and stole two more in the sixth, ending the match.

Manitoba wasn't quite as forgiving.

After Levesque opened with a single in the first, Manitoba skip Dennis Thiessen engineered a four-ender in the second and stole one in the third to take a 5-1 lead.

Northern Ontario got one back in the fourth, but when Thiessen nailed three in the seventh, the two sides shook hands.

At 1-1 the local rink is in a two-way tie for fifth in the 10-team competition.

Manitoba, British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario each sport 2-0 records after the first day of action.

The Levesque rink plays B.C. at 10:30 a.m. and the host Sudbury squad at 2:30 p.m.