OAKVILLE, Ont. - Laurier's men's curling team will start its season a little earlier than usual on Thursday night with their opening draw at the 2023 PointsBet Invitational.

The rink of skip Sam Mooibroek, vice Kibo Mulima, second Wyatt Small, lead Ben Pearce, and alternate Codie Harris qualified for the event after winning gold at last season's U SPORTS national championships in Sudbury, Ont. Along with 15 other teams, they will chase a prize purse of over $350,000 in a sudden-death, single-knockout format at Sixteen Mile Sports Complex in Oakville, Ont.

Led by head coach Matt Wilkinson, the 14th-seeded team will take on Matt Dunstone's 3rd-ranked rink at 7 p.m. on Thursday. It will also be the feature game live on TSN 1/4, TSN.ca, and the TSN app.

Two members of Laurier's women's team are also in the event, with Isabelle Ladouceur leading a rink from the Whitby Curling Club alongside Golden Hawks teammate Jamie Smith. The seventh-ranked team's first draw is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Thursday.

Live scoring, standings and statistics for the 2023 PointsBet Invitational are available by CLICKING HERE. 

For ticket information for the 2023 PointsBet Invitational, go to www.curling.ca/2023pointsbetinvitational/tickets/