Einarson still perfect at Canadian Olympic curling trials, Homan in striking distance

HALIFAX – Kerri Einarson remained undefeated at the 2025 Montana’s Canadian Curling Trials with a 9-7 win over Selena Sturmay on Tuesday morning.

Einarson’s squad from Gimli, Man., improved to 5-0 after scoring four in the ninth end to take a 9-5 lead.

Edmonton’s Sturmay fell to 2-3.

Ottawa’s Rachel Homan kept the heat on Einarson with a 4-1 record after a 10-3 win over Corryn Brown of Kamloops, B.C. Brown fell to 1-4.

Those results put the top two women’s teams in Canada on a collision course, with Homan and Einarson set to meet in the final women’s round-robin draw on Wednesday afternoon. 

Later in a men’s afternoon draw, 2006 Olympic champion Brad Gushue and 2014 gold medallist Brad Jacobs won their matches to create a three-way tie for first place.

Gushue, from St. John’s, N.L., scored two in an extra end for an 8-6 win over Winnipeg’s Jordon McDonald. Jacobs and his Calgary rink posted a 6-4 win over Toronto’s John Epping.

Gushue, Jacobs and Winnipeg’s Matt Dunstone were at 4-1 heading into the final two men’s round-robin draws on Wednesday. Dunstone suffered his first loss of the tournament Tuesday afternoon, falling 5-4 to Calgary’s Kevin Koe.  

The team that finishes atop the round-robin standings in each competition gets direct entry into the best-of-three final, while the second and third seeds face off in a semifinal.

In other results, Christina Black of Halifax stole one in each of the final two ends to edge Calgary’s Kayla Skrlik 6-5 and Winnipeg’s Kaitlyn Lawes defeated Kate Cameron of St. Adolphe, Man., 5-3.

Black and Lawes improved to 3-2 and remained in the hunt for a playoff spot.

Skrlik joined Sturmay at 2-3, Brown fell to 1-4 and Cameron dropped to 0-5.

In the other men’s match, Mike McEwen beat Ryan Kleiter 9-7 in a battle of Saskatoon skips.

McEwen and Koe were right behind the leaders at 3-2, while Kleiter and Epping were 1-4 and McDonald was 0-5.

The second-last women’s draw was scheduled for Tuesday night. A brief ceremony in memory of legendary curler Colleen Jones will take place before the draw.

Jones, a Halifax native who won six Canadian titles and two world championships over her career, died Tuesday morning at age 65. She was diagnosed with cancer early in 2023.

The winner of the men’s and women’s trials will represent Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina, Italy.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 25, 2025.