Nedohin back in Scotties spotlight

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This article was published 21/02/2017 (3350 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

ST. CATHARINES, Ont. — It was always a little surreal to see Shannon Kleibrink back at Scotties. It’s been six years since the Team Alberta skip’s last national appearance and 11 since she wore the maple leaf to the 2006 Olympic Games in Torino, Italy.

Recently, Kleibrink was thinking of semi-retiring. But after chatting with third Lisa Eyamie, originally from Winnipeg, she decided to keep going. That paid off this year, where they toppled Val Sweeting in the Alberta playdowns.

Now, a back injury may cut Kleibrink’s Scotties short — but in her place, fans can see another Alberta fave.

Two-time Canadian champion and 2017 Team Alberta alternate Heather Nedohin took over as skip on Tuesday. Returning to national action surprised her too: she told reporters she never expected to play another Scotties.

Well, let the record show that Nedohin hasn’t missed a step. In the morning, she shot a brilliant 91 per cent over Saskatchewan and earned a 10-7 win. In the afternoon, she was sharp in a 9-5 squeaker loss to Manitoba.

If Kleibrink cannot return, Friday morning’s game between Alberta and Team Canada could be something special. Chelsea Carey, don’t forget, is skipping what was Nedohin’s team when she stepped back from the game in 2015.

At the time, Nedohin said that she planned to be the newly-minted Team Carey’s “biggest fan and cheerleader.” Now, she’ll get to play against them — and depending on how the week pans out, there may be a playoff spot on the line.

Of course, curling is a small world: current Carey and former Nedohin third Amy Nixon once played for Kleibrink, too.

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Quebec coming on strong

Quebec isn’t one of Canada’s typical curling powerhouses, and so Montreal skip Eve Bélisle spent the first half of the round-robin flying under the radar. That could be about to change after she snagged two big wins on Tuesday.

Those wins, over Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, raised Bélisle to 5-2 on the week. That’s a fine place to be coming into the home stretch. If Bélisle wins just two of her last four games, she has a good shot at a playoff spot.

On the other hand, Bélisle’s last four opponents include Rachel Homan, Chelsea Carey and Northwest Territories’ Kerry Galusha, who is on a spirited run at Meridian Centre. So, Bélisle still plans to take it one game at a time.

“I’d like to stay focused on our games,” Bélisle said with a chuckle, about how she’s not watching the scoreboard. “I’m not really looking at the other teams. We’ll worry about them when we have to.”