A perfect game in five-pin bowling is a rare feat, so rare that it hasn’t happened in Moose Jaw in 21 years. That was until Wednesday night when Darcy Peesker accomplished the feat at the South Hill Bowling Centre.

“It felt really good, there was a lot of nerves and a lot of excitement all rolled into one, so it was quite the feeling,” said Peesker over the phone on Thursday.

To bowl a perfect game in five-pin bowling, a bowler must record 12 strikes in a row for a score of 450. It’s more rare than a perfect game of 300 in 10-pin.  This is the third perfect game to happen in Saskatchewan and the 12th overall in Canada this year.

The memorable night started like another night at the bowling alley, but as the strikes started to pile up, everyone knew something special was happening, according to Peesker.

“Everybody was having a good time bowling and then as the game progressed, more and more people realized what was happening and gathered around to watch,” he said.  “By the 10th frame, it was pretty quiet in the bowling alley as everybody was gathered around to see if I could do it.”

Peesker said he tried to stay focused on each shot and block out everything that was happening as he got closer and closer to the end.

“I tried to focus on keeping calm and my heart rate in check to keep my nerves in check,” he said.

“About the 7th-8th frame, it sunk in that I might have a good chance because I was bowling pretty well.  In the 9th frame, that’s where the nerves usually hit and I got through that one and then the 10th frame just fell into place.”

There was some celebration and relief from Peesker after some nerve-racking frames to end the game.

Peesker had been struggling with his game earlier this year, but has found a good groove lately and that was definitely the case on Wednesday night.

This is the first perfect game of Peesker’s bowling career, which started when he was a kid and has continued as an adult.  Peesker has come close to a perfect game before, but could never finish it off.

“I’ve had 6-7-8 strikes in a row, but this was a special night and everything fell into place,” he said.

The perfect game has now been certified by the Canadian Five-Pin Bowlers’ Association and is listed under the official perfect games on their website.