Kilgallen in command

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Seemingly concerned, Pinawa skip Colleen Kilgallen follows a shot in the 4 p.m. draw Friday in Stonewall. (BORIS MINKEVICH / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS) Photo Store

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   • Crowded at the top with three at 5-1

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The Cathy Overton-Clapham team is bouncing back from a brutal start. (BORIS MINKEVICH / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS) Photo Store

STONEWALL -- Chelsea Carey is frustrated, Cathy Overton-Clapham is happy to be alive and Colleen Kilgallen and her unlikely Pinawa foursome remain in the driver's seat heading into today's final round-robin draw of the 2013 Scotties Tournament of Hearts.

Carey's record fell to 4-2 Friday evening with an 8-5 loss to Overton-Clapham, who has now won three straight after opening at 0-3 and could still force a playoff tiebreaker game if she wins her final round-robin game against Jill Thurston this morning and gets some help from opponents.

Carey, meanwhile, needs to win her final round-robin game against Darcy Robertson or risk missing the playoffs, while Kilgallen, at 5-1 can now do no worse than a playoff tiebreaker game and can wrap up first place with a win over Karen Fallis in her final round-robin game.

Fallis, at 4-2, could also still finish first when the smoke clears today. Add to the mix Robertson and Thurston, who are both still alive for tiebreakers at 3-3, and you've got a shootout today in an eight-team Red Group round-robin pool where a remarkable six teams still have playoff hopes with just one draw to play.

They're not all feeling the same way about it, however.

"I just came off the ice after a very frustrating loss, so I'm frustrated. But that doesn't change what we have to do (today)," Carey said after the loss to Overton-Clapham. "We just have to get past the frustration and come out and win."

Overton-Clapham, on the other hand, was all smiles -- and even a bit salty -- when she emerged from the ice to questions about what changed to cause such a dramatic turnaround for her team after the bad start.

"I don't know. I just thought we worked too hard to come here and not enjoy it and not play well," said Overton-Clapham. "I don't know -- got my head out of my a--? I don't know."

Kilgallen was 5-0 and had a chance to clinch first place Friday evening, but her squad posted a poor effort against a Stacey Fordyce Brandon foursome that had won only once heading into that game, but beat Kilgallen 10-7.

Kilgallen said her team is beginning to feel the pressure. "As we're getting into it, I can feel it -- we're getting a little bit tighter. We want to just stay loose and have fun, like we've been doing."

And then there's the Fallis squad, who got crushed 8-1 in their opening game and looked like they'd be in for a long week, only to lose only once more and have a shot at first place coming into today.

"We haven't played much this year but we have lots of experience," said Fallis. "So we're just plugging away, having fun and just learning more and more about each other as we play."

Here's a look at the playoff scenarios in the Red Group heading into today:

-- Kilgallen would finish first with a win over Fallis today and can do no worse than a playoff tiebreaker;

-- Fallis can still finish as high as first place or as low as out of the playoffs;

-- Carey can still finish as high as first place or as low as out of the playoffs;

-- Overton-Clapham can still make a tiebreaker game, but she needs a win over Thurston, a loss by Carey to Robertson and a loss by Fallis to Kilgallen;

-- Thurston can still make a tiebreaker game, but she needs a win over Overton-Clapham, a loss by Carey to Robertson and a loss by Fallis to Kilgallen;

-- Robertson can still make a tiebreaker game, but she needs a win over Carey and a loss by Fallis to Kilgallen.

paul.wiecek@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition January 26, 2013 C7