JT Ryan and Shea Bevan will represent Manitoba at the 2018 Canadian Junior Curling Championships in Shawinigan, Quebec after winning the provincials Sunday in Altona.

Ryan, third Jacques Gauthier, second Colin Kurz and lead Brendan Bilawaka defeated Jordan Peters of the Morris Curling Club 8-4 Sunday afternoon in the Junior Men’s final.

“Pretty special,” said Ryan who successfully defended the provincial title he won in 2017 at the St. Vital Curling Club. “It means a lot to come back here and do it again. Early on in the week we weren’t playing very good. We lost our second game and it would have been easy to kind of fold but we stuck in there and rattled off quite a few in a row to get here.”

The Assiniboine Memorial Curling Club foursome reeled off seven straight wins after losing 9-4 to Brooks Freeman of Virden,

Ryan said the key to the final was staying patient.

“We got the hammer for winning the 1-1 game but they forced us pretty early and then got a deuce. We just kept battling back to get control of the hammer and obviously the four in the seventh end was pretty big.”

That four gave Ryan & company a 7-3 lead with three ends to go and it was just to big a hill to climb for Peters, Andrew Clapham, Luke Loewen and Cole Chandler.

“We played a good game but just came up short,” said the Morris skip who beat Brayden Payette of Brandon 7-4 in the semifinals Sunday morning. “The boys played well, lot of good shots. It was a hard fought battle.”

Last year at the Nationals in Victoria, Ryan missed the playoffs when he lost his final two round robin games and then a tie-breaker.

“I didn’t realize all the behind the scenes stuff that there was when we first went but now that we know, I think we’ll be ready and prepared for that. We know it’s a long week. Last year we kind of fizzled out by the end.”

Bevan along with third Kyla Grabowski, second Paige Beaudry and lead Jessica Hancox edged Meghan Walter of Elmwood 5-4 in an extra end in the Junior Women’s final.

“It’s unbelievable. I have no words,” said Bevan right after the closing ceremonies. “This is like my dream and the girls dreams. Kyla and Jessica worked so hard. It’s their last year and to be able to win it in their last year is everything we hoped for.”

The St. Vital foursome lost their opening round robin game 8-6 to Paige Watkins of Deer Lodge and then strung together eight straight wins.

“We kept calm and kept cool,” said Bevan. “We pumped each other up when we got down and really stuck in it when we needed to.”

Bevan won the provincial final when she successfully removed Walter’s shot rock in the four-foot that didn’t bury.

“I was a little calm,” said the St. Vital skip on that final throw. “I was a little shaky out the hack so I had to clean up my release a little bit and hit that rock. It was all smiles after that.”

Bevan, Grabowski, Beaudry and Hancox are expecting a great week at the Canadian Championship in Quebec which begins January 13th.

“We just want to have fun and embrace it,” said Bevan. “We’re very excited.”

Josh Maisey of Winnipeg Beach had a 2-5 round robin record and Serena Gray-Withers of Lorette was 4-3.