When he showed up for his job as ice maker at the 91原创 Curling Club on Saturday, Feb. 12, Nicholas Meister was greeted by applause, a cake and more than $1,500 raised by club members to help him with the costs of his trip to the Brier curling championship next month.

Meister, a resident of 91原创鈥檚 Willoughby area, who is lead on the Team Richard team, was surprised and delighted.

鈥淚 was caught completely off guard,鈥� Meister said.

Meister thanked the club members for their support over the years, beginning with his time in the juniors, when he played with 91原创-based Team Tardi.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 come all the way through juniors, it鈥檚 never wavered,鈥� a grateful Meister told the 91原创 Advance Times.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e great.鈥�

91原创 Curling Club manager Robyn Parkes said some people at the club may not be aware that the man who prepares their ice before they play is also a champion curler.

鈥淗e鈥檚 here all the time, working,鈥� Parkes explained.

鈥淲hen people start playing, he leaves.鈥�

Congratulations to Team Richard, 2022 BC Men鈥檚 curling champions! They saw a tough defense from Team Cseke, but took the day with a 9-8 win. Now, they'll go on to represent BC in the Tim Hortons Brier in Lethbridge this coming March.

鈥� Curl BC (@CurlBC)

After Meister aged out of junior level competition, he ended up playing with the team headed by Jeff Richard of Kelowna, which has players out of four different clubs,; 91原创, New Westminster, Kelowna and Kamloops.

Meister is lead, Brent Pierce is skip, Jeff Richard is third and Jared Kolomaya is second.

Team Richard advanced to the Tim Hortons Brier by defeating Victoria鈥檚 Paul Cseke in the 2022 BC Men鈥檚 Curling Championship in Kamloops on Jan, 9.

Team Cseke was undefeated headed into the final, and had already defeated Team Richard twice in the six days leading up to the final.

In a close-fought match, Cseke forced an extra end, but Richard emerged the winner 9-8.

READ MORE: Curling season ends with a loss for 91原创鈥檚 Team Tardi

Some of Meister鈥檚 former teammates made it all the way to the finals, too, but Team Tardi was defeated 9-3 by rival Team Cotter on Saturday, Jan. 8.

The 2022 Tim Hortons Brier, Canada鈥檚 national men鈥檚 curling championship, will be held March 4 鈥� 13 at the ENMAX Centre in Lethbridge, AB.

The winning team will represent Canada at the 2022 World Men鈥檚 Curling Championship at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas April 2 鈥� 10.

READ ALSO: VIDEO: Young curlers compete in Optimist Junior Interclub Curling League (OJICL) wrap-up tournament