DAY 1 GETS UNDERWAY AT 2026 OCAA CURLING CHAMPIONSHIPS

MISSISSAUGA, Ont. – The 2026 OCAA Curling Championships hit the ice at the Dixie Curling Centre in Mississauga on Wednesday, with the host Humber Hawks welcoming the province's top programs for this year's championship.

Day 1 was the opening of the round-robin schedule, with both men's and women's teams beginning the push for a playoff position over a busy four-day competition.

Men's Curling

All three opening men's matches played out largely as expected, with the favourites getting off to strong starts in their respective draws. The Mohawk Mountaineers (1-0), Sault College Cougars (1-0) and Humber Hawks (1-0) each opened the championships with convincing victories.

The defending four-time champions Mohawk wasted little time setting the tone against the Confederation Thunderhawks (0-1). The Mountaineers put five points on the board over the opening ends, then broke the game open with a massive six-point sixth end. Mohawk cruised from there, securing a decisive 13-3 win.

Sault jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the opening end against the Niagara Knights, and maintained control throughout the middle ends, stretching their advantage to eight after four. Niagara had a brief response with three points in the fifth, but the Cougars remained steady and closed out a 12-6 victory.

Looking to reclaim gold for the first time since 2020, the Hawks had a good start against the Durham Lords (0-1). Humber played with the hammer early and controlled the house, keeping Durham off the scoreboard for most of the draw. The Hawks rolled to a 9-1 win.

Women's Curling

The most tightly contested matchup of the opening day came between the Mohawk Mountaineers (1-0) and the Confederation Thunderhawks (0-1), with the game going down to the final ends.

Mohawk appeared to be in control early with an 8-2 lead through four ends, but Confederation responded with back-to-back three-point ends to tie the draw. The Mountaineers answered in the seventh with two points, and while the Thunderhawks pushed for a steal in the final end, Mohawk held on for a narrow 10-9 victory.

The Hawks (1-0) jumped out to an early 5-0 lead through three ends against the Durham Lords (0-1) and never lost control. Durham managed to get on the board with two points after five, but saw the Hawks put the game away with two two-point ends to secure a 9-2 win.

In the other matchup, Niagara (1-0) took on Sault (0-1). The Knights were up 3-0 after two before the Cougars scored in three consecutive ends to take a 4-3 lead. However, the Knights reclaimed control with the hammer, posting four more points to close out a 7-4 win.

What's next?

The championships continue Thursday with day two of round-robin play. All teams will return to the ice for draw two at 10 a.m., followed by draw three at 2 p.m., with a total of 12 matches scheduled throughout the day.

Fans can follow live results at scores.curlingtours.com and watch all draws live at ocaa.com/live.

Source: Fernando Bossoes

Photo Credit: Diego Guillen

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