STRATFORD, ONT.
It wasn't a case of if but more of a question of when Nunavut would capture a game at the Canadian Junior Curling Championships.

Skip Sadie Pinksen guides the rock down the ice as Melicia Elizaga, left, and Kaitlin MacDonald work the brooms during action at the Canadian Junior Curling Championships in Stratford, Ont., on Jan. 26. - Curling Canada/Bob Wilson photo

For the record, that date was Jan. 26, 2016.

That was the day Sadie Pinksen, Christianne West, Kaitlin MacDonald and Melicia Elizaga of the Iqaluit Curling Club became the answer to a trivia question forever after defeating the NWT by a score of 7-3 in the seeding round of this year's bonspiel in Stratford, Ont.

But who cares if it wasn't a playoff game. The fact is they won and snapped a 32-game losing streak in the process.

"It was great, it was wonderful," said Pinksen, who, along with West, had been on the ice for every one of those 32 losses since making her debut as a 13-year-old at the 2013 national junior championship.

Coincidentally, that was also the year Nunavut debuted at the event.

"I'm really proud of my team to finally have a national win. We played a great team (Jan. 26) and I think we played great. We're really proud of ourselves."

Each team scored a single in the opening two ends but it was the third end where Nunavut began to take control. Pinksen's rink scored two to take a 3-1 lead and then stole points in the fourth, fifth and sixth ends to open up 7-1 lead. The NWT scored two in the eighth end but decided to shake hands after that to give Nunavut the win and jubilation.

The boys, meanwhile, represented by the Qavik Curling Club from Rankin Inlet, were also suffering from a big losing streak - 33 games, to be exact - when they met the NWT on Jan. 27. It didn't start off well as the boys had their hats handed to them good and proper against Manitoba in the opening draw.

33-1 to be exact.

Little did they know their skid would also come to an end in a big way.

Just like the girls, the boys traded singles in the first two ends and, just like the girls, the boys stole their way to victory. The NWT held a 2-1 lead after the third end but Nunavut stole in ends four through seven and had a 9-2 lead at that point. The NWT came back with three in the eight to narrow the gap to 9-5. Another single in the ninth end for the NWT made it 9-6 but Nunavut was able to hold their nerve and run the NWT out of rocks in the 10 th end.

"Oh, man. I'm a little bit emotional," said Siksik right after the game. "I don't know ... it's awesome. After the losses, we were used to it and we weren't really sad."

Sean Turriff, who filled in as the rink's coach after Angela Dale, the team's regular coach, was unable to make the trip, said it was hard to not be emotional.

"Having just met them a week and a half ago to this point? I can't calm down right now," he said. "It's been a journey. Every game, we had smaller goals. Everybody should have a shot in their game that they can brag about, and that was great. After the games, we'd talk about those shots and we'd be leaving feeling pretty good. But now, we can brag about the whole game."

Siksik had watched the girls win the day before and jokingly admitted he was a bit selfish.

"Well, actually, I was half happy, half-disappointed," he said with a laugh. "I wanted to be the first. I was being selfish. But it was good to see the girls win."

If you wanted some examples of just how popular the wins were, both teams made the front page of the Toronto Star and the girls even had an autograph session before their game against Prince Edward Island on Jan. 28.

Yes, they've hit the big time.

Curling Canada has taken notice as well and its director of media relations, Al Cameron, said he knew it was only a matter of time before Nunavut found success.

"They knew it wouldn't be an overnight thing but they stuck with it and followed the process," he said. "It's a huge boost for curling in Nunavut and it shows what's possible when you put in the time. Everyone involved deserves credit for this."

Cameron was also full of praise for how the NWT handled both situations since they were the losing team on both occasions.

"They handled it with class and were genuinely happy for them," he said. "They were professional about it and that was great to see. In fact, every non-playing person was watching to see what would happen with the boys game and, honestly, who here wasn't watching it?"