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INUVIK
The Northwest Territories team may not have taken the top spot in this year's Canadian Mixed Curling Championship but team captain Nick Saturnino didn't come home to Inuvik empty-handed.

Curlers Nick Saturnino, left, Stephanie Crocker, Richard Gordon and Eileen McKay-Saturnino headed to Quebec in late November to play in the Canadian Mixed Curling Championship. - photo courtesy of Eve Belisle

Saturnino, who coaches a junior girls team in town, said he picked up some new knowledge on the game that he hopes to pass on.

"The experience was beneficial in regards to just learning how some of the top competitors in the country compete," Saturnino said, adding he plans to incorporate the new techniques and game strategies he learned into his coaching.

Saturnino and his team of Eileen McKay-Saturnino, Richard Gordon and Stephanie Crocker travelled to Quebec in late November to compete against curling teams from across Canada. This was the team's first time playing in the championship although curlers from the town have gone before.

The team got off to a rocky start in the competition, losing their first five games. But they managed to bring it back in a match against Quebec.

"We had been building up and improving in our first five games and things kind of came together in that game," Saturnino said.

The Quebec team, which going into the match hadn't lost a game, took the first two points. But the Northwest Territories team answered back, scoring five points over the next four ends. This put them in the lead until the other team scored three points to tie the game. The Northerners didn't give up though. They took back the lead after that and managed to close the match with an 11-6 win.

"We all played well," Saturnino said. "It was a good feeling to beat the number one team at the time."

Later in the tournament Saturnino played against the team from the Yukon. The Northwest Territories team won the match 12-5.

"We had the upper hand most of the game," Saturnino said. "The key in that game was in the second end we scored five points to take a 5-1 lead."

In many of the other games the team fell behind early and struggled to catch up, Saturnino said.

"We just got off to a bad start," he said, adding the team struggled to adjust to the ice at the TMR Curling Club. "It was just slower ice than what we're used to."

Still, Saturnino said the team enjoyed the competition.

"It was a wonderful experience. We had a great time. Montreal was great, the club and the volunteers were all excellent."

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