Besieged Einarson squad bows out
[With files from Curling Canada]
It’s a new day in Canadian women’s curling. For the first time in five years, a new champion will win the Scotties Tournament of Hearts.
On Friday night, Kerri Einarson’s foursome from Gimli, Man. was eliminated in the page playoff 3 vs 4 game 9-4 by a fellow Manitoba squad skipped by Kate Cameron.
Einarson’s exit came quickly in the playoff rounds. Team Canada rolled through their round-robin pool play with a 7-1 won/loss record, but once the playoffs came around Friday it was two losses and out. The old Einarson magic and comeback ability was not meant to be.
The squad’s usual five-player national and world lineup was reduced to four just hours before the start of competition, when Curling Canada was informed that lead player Briane Harris was declared ineligible to compete.
The news caused an uproar, forcing the team to try and refocus like never before.
“It sucks but I guess it had to come to an end at some point,” said Einarson, who lost 8-4 earlier in the day to Ontario’s Rachel Homan in a Page 1 / 2 qualifying game. “We battled hard through all the adversity we had this week and I’m super proud of this team.”
In the other qualifying game at Calgary’s WinSport Event Centre, Alberta’s Selena Sturmay kept her surprising run for a national title alive with an 8-5 victory over Team Manitoba’s Kaitlyn Lawes, who was also eliminated.
The Albertans had dropped their Page 1 / 2 qualifying game 8-4 earlier in the day to Manitoba’s Jennifer Jones, who announced pre-tournament that this will be her final Tournament of hearts competition.
Cameron and Sturmay now move on to the Page 3 / 4 game Saturday at 12 noon (Mountain time). Homan and Jones follow at 6:00 p.m. local time in the Page 1 / 2 game.
It was a fabulous run by Team Einarson, equalling the four-in-a-row record (2002-2004) compiled by skip Colleen Jones and her sensational hit squad from Halifax.
Einarson looked poised to win and move on with a 4-2 lead after four ends, but a series of miscues allowed Cameron back in the game. The crusher was an Einarson draw that slid too heavy in the eighth end, leading to a steal of two.
Team Canada made it interesting in the 10th end, building an end that had the makings of a game-tying score of three, but Einarson just missed a thin double and history was denied.
“Obviously, they’re a great team,” said Cameron. “They had a wonderful four seasons.
“We knew we had to play them at some point this week. We were a little nervous to play them now in a do-or-die ... but we knew whether it was today, tomorrow or Sunday we would have to play them.
“We came out really strong in the second half and that paid off.”