Defending champion Tyler Tardi opens with back-to-back wins at Canadian juniors

PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. — B.C. skip Tyler Tardi is off to a strong start in his push for a third straight title at the Canadian junior curling nationals.

The 20-year-old from Langley, B.C., opened round-robin play on Saturday with back-to-back victories, first a 10-2 win over the Yukon followed by a 14-1 thumping of Nunavut.

Tardi, vice-skip Sterling Middleton, second Matthew Hall and lead Alex Horvath headline the 14-team men’s field at the nine-day competition in Prince Albert, Sask. Nova Scotia’s Kaitlyn Jones is one of the favourites in the 14-team women’s field.

Manitoba’s J.T. Ryan and Saskatchewan’s Rylan Kleiter are also 2-0 after Day 1 to sit atop the men’s standings with Tardi.

Jones is 1-0 after downing the host squad led by Skyler Ackerman, 6-2 in Saturday’s evening draw.

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B.C’s Sarah Daniels, Manitoba’s Mackenzie Zacaharias and Quebec’s Laurie St-Georges are all 2-0 to lead the women’s side heading into Day 2.

Teams are split into pools of seven and the top four rinks in each pool will make the playoffs. Semifinals are set for Jan. 26 and the finals will be played Jan. 27.

The winners will represent Canada at the Feb. 16-23 world junior curling championship in Liverpool, N.S.

The Canadian Press