This was the third year in a row that St. Albert curler Nathan Molberg and Team Libbus made it to the SGI Best of the West tournament. Despite a loss in the finals this time around, he said that they felt good about their appearance for the 2025 event and are looking forward to getting back at it next season.
The invitational tournament sees two teams each from British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba going up against one another. Team Libbus' trip to the tournament this year -- which ran from April 24 to April 27 in Saskatoon -- was their third appearance. Despite a strong showing that involved them beating the number one ranked team going into the event, they lost in the final to Team Connor Deane from British Columbia.
"We got behind a little early. So once you get yourself into a hole — playing against a really good team — it's hard to claw your way back without giving up more points," Molberg said.
Despite the loss, Molberg said that overall it was a good weekend, and he was impressed with the team's progress. This most recent trip was their most successful outing in the Best of the West tournament by far.
"The last couple I don't think we made the playoff. And so I think we took some of the lessons there," he said. "We worked much harder going into this in practice than we did in the last couple years. In part because we had ice. But in part because that's what it takes to make it at a top level."
He said he views the tournament as a benchmark for where they can get to.
"You get to play it at three years in a row at the same time against similar teams, and it's nice to see the progress that gets made with hard work. If we're working hard we can make the final, and if you're making finals you start winning them."
With the confidence coming in at the tail end of the season and going into the next, Molberg said he was looking forward to a couple months off before getting back onto the ice in August.
"We'll start pushing hard for next year in a little bit here and see what we can do," he said.
